


25 Days of Sabriel Drabbles

by Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, smut in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:06:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 24,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21674167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness/pseuds/Masterpiece_of_turkey_cleverness
Summary: I shouldn't do this thing, especially since I'm starting out four days behind, but here you go anyway.  Vaguely holiday-themed Sabriel.  Each chapter will be named for the day's prompt.  And apparently you're getting smut for the first day.  You're welcome, thirsty Sabriel people.
Relationships: Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Comments: 261
Kudos: 132





	1. Warm

"Gabriel!" Sam complained. "You're letting in all the cold air! Hurry up and get in here." 

Gabriel mock-gasped as he slid under the covers into Sam's bed--well, a magically enlarged version of Sam's bed, because Gabriel had requirements and the poor kid deserved a bed that was actually long enough for him. "Sam! Are you cold?"

"A little," Sam grumbled. He'd been feeling a bit under the weather today, and probably for that reason, the bunker's air temperature seemed a bit colder than usual. Little did he know that Gabriel had been slowly decreasing the temperature without changing the number showing on the thermostat as a prank. 

"My poor Sam," Gabriel said, shaking his head slowly from side to side before rolling on top of his Moose. He loved it when his pranks had positive, albeit unintended, consequences. "I guess I'll just have to warm you up." 

Sam groaned. "How long have you been waiting to use THAT line?" he asked, though he slid his arms around Gabriel. 

"Not long." Gabriel grinned down at Sam, and then lowered his head to capture the other man's lips. He was so lucky he'd landed the non-emotionally constipated, non vaguely-homophobic Winchester. Not that he really wanted the other one; his little brother could deal with _that_ mess. As he kissed Sam, he tasted more than just the beer and coffee the other man usually tasted of. He gently sent his grace into Sam, burning away the virus particles that were attacking his system. While he liked taking care of his hunter, there was no real reason for Sam to have to be sick. Plus, he felt a little guilty that his prank coincided with Sam's cold.

Sam returned the kiss, perhaps with a little more fervor once Gabriel took care of his illness, although he didn't realize it. Gabriel heard the changes in Sam's blood flow, and knew the hunter would already be feeling warmer. When he pulled away to start kissing at Sam's neck instead of his lips, Sam reminded him, "We have to get up early tomorrow." 

Gabriel made a face; he could always freeze time, but then Cas tended to show up with questions he didn't really want answered. "Fine. I'll be quick," he retorted, snapping their clothes away and kissing his way down to Sam's chest. Gabriel could spend hours doing nothing but worshiping that firm, muscular part of Sam, but today he forced himself to stop after only a few minutes. Instead, he wriggled his way down until his erect cock was able to press firmly against Sam's when he lowered his hips. 

Sam groaned, and it was music to Gabriel's ears. "Oh god," he added--which really wasn't. He yelped when Gabriel pinched his flank. 

"What have I told you about bringing up Dad in bed?" Gabriel growled at him. "Don't make me gag you." He reached down, hand already magically lubed, and grasped both of them at once. 

"Okay, okay," Sam replied breathlessly as Gabriel started to stroke them both together. He reached up and ran his hands through Gabriel's hair tugging lightly, then ran them down the archangel's back to where his wings would be--Sam had discovered earlier that it was a sensitive spot. "Oh, yes. Just like that, Gabe," he said as he rubbed circles into the archangel's back. 

"Oh, you like this?" Gabriel twisted his wrist for emphasis, and Sam bucked up underneath him, making another of those sounds he could never quite get enough of. 

"Yes, yes," Sam chanted, leaning up so he could give Gabriel a sloppy, teeth-filled kiss. Gabriel chuckled, kissing him back while stroking them both. He loved to watch Sam--normally so in control of himself--come apart like this. And then came the relaxation, and watching Sam actually relax for once, even for a little while, was a rare treat. Well, not as rare now that they were lovers as it had been before, but still. 

Gabriel felt his own breathing increase as he listened to Sam gasp for air while he used the hand stroking both of them to speed things along--not only did he know every trick in the book, he'd authored it and would give you a signed copy if you asked. He didn't need oxygen, but he'd learned long ago that humans got weirded out when you didn't behave as if you were at least mostly human in bed. That's why he'd made a point of learning how to taste molecules and even how to sleep. Well, something that approximated sleep, anyway. "When this next hunt is done," he was also a master of dirty talk, not that he'd really had to 'learn' that one, "I'm going to bend you over one of those flimsy little hotel tables and fuck you until we break it. I love the way you feel when my cock is as far up your ass as it can get. The way you tighten around me when you come. Oh, Sammich, I'm going to have _so_ much fun with you."

He felt Sam tensing, and slid his hand down to fondle his sac briefly before sliding his hand back up over the two of them. "Come on, Sam. Come with me," he urged, panting, as the hunter let go, covering them both in a sticky mess. 

"Gabe!" he cried out, and it was enough like a prayer that it pushed the archangel over his own edge and he added to the mess between them. He collapsed on Sam after a long, drawn-out groan. A minute or five later, he snapped his fingers, removing all the mess between them (somehow _that_ never bothered humans), and cuddled the hunter, whose arms were draped loosely around him. 

"Feel warmer?" Gabriel asked after another minute or two. 

"Mmmm. Yeah. Thanks, Gabe." Sam pulled the archangel further up his body so he could give him a slow kiss, and then rolled them onto their sides so they could snuggle. 

"Anytime, Sam. Anytime."


	2. Hot Chocolate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not explicit. Hopefully enjoyable, though!

Sam jumped when there was a sudden gasp at the door of the kitchen, and then relaxed when he realized it was just Gabriel being over-dramatic. The next words out of the archangel's mouth, however, had his heart rate increasing suddenly and dramatically. "I'm breaking up with you!" the archangel declared, staring across the kitchen at Sam. 

While he was fairly certain that Gabriel didn't mean it, Sam still felt a little hurt. "What? Why?" he demanded, gesturing at his boyfriend with the spoon he was holding. 

"That!" Gabriel said in the same dramatic tone, pointing at the packet Sam was holding in his other hand. 

Sam looked down, to make sure the packet hadn't changed into an angel blade or something in the last five seconds. "What, this? What's wrong with Swiss Miss?"

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG?!? Oh, Sam, no. No, no no no. No boyfriend of mine is drinking _that._ " He strode across the kitchen, grabbed the pouch from Sam's hand, and threw it in the trash. 

"Gabriel!" Sam protested. "That was the last packet!"

"Yeah, well, it's disgusting. Sit down and I'll make you the _real_ stuff, Sam-lamb." Gabriel pointed to the kitchen table. 

Sam scoffed. "We don't have anything to make the real stuff with, Gabriel," he complained. He didn't say anything else, but Swiss Miss had been a real treat for the Winchesters boys as kids--Dean had only managed to steal some once, and the two boys had made the can last an entire month. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and pointed at a chair. "We do now." He relented slightly, though, standing on his tip-toes to give Sam a quick kiss. "Please, trust me?" he asked. "I promise, mine is better." 

Sam threw himself down in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Fine," he said, watching as Gabriel pulled out the milk and sniffed it. From the look on Gabriel's face, it had already started to turn into yogurt, but he gave the container a little shake and then poured it into a saucepan. "Cheater," Sam pointed out, smirking. There was no way Gabriel hadn't just magicked the milk good again. 

"I suppose I'll forgive you for attempting to use water," Gabriel retorted, rolling his eyes and dumping Sam's cup--which was indeed full of hot water--into the sink. He began pulling items that Sam was certain hadn't been there a few minutes ago out of the cupboards. "I learned this recipe from a chef in Spain, who made it for Spanish royalty after chocolate came back from the Americas." 

Sam knew better than to call bullshit; Gabriel might have made up the story, but it could also be true--and Gabriel didn't hesitate to offer proof for his stories by dragging them around in time and space. While that could be fun sometimes, Sam wasn't in the mood. Instead, he settled for, "Well, it had better be good." 

"Oh, ye of little faith," Gabriel responded as he tossed various things into the saucepan and stirred the contents. "Weren't you just saying the other day how _everything_ I put in your mouth was delicious?" He waggled his eyebrows. 

"Those weren't the exact words I used," Sam replied with a snort, but he did relax a little--he could never stay mad at Gabriel for long. Unfolding his arms, he watched the archangel create hot chocolate for him--and wasn't that adorable, that a being so powerful would take the time to make something from scratch for him instead of just snapping it up? 

Gabriel laughed. "Close enough, Sam-lamb." He switched off the burner and then began carefully pouring the contents of the saucepan into two mugs. He'd left a mess behind him, and Dean would probably kill him for it later, though the archangel seemed unconcerned. He set the saucepan aside, picked up the two mugs, and came over to the table. "Move," he said, bumping Sam's arm with his hip. 

Sam got the silent message, and pushed out his chair so that Gabriel could sit down in his lap. Both of them enjoyed the position; it put their faces more or less on a level, and Sam liked having at least one arm around his angel. Once Gabriel settled, Sam reached for a mug with his other hand, but the angel knocked it away. "Uh-uh," he admonished Sam, wagging a finger in his face. "Close your eyes." 

"Fine, fine." Sam rolled his eyes before he closed them, but he did as Gabriel asked and was not particularly surprised when Gabriel's first move was to kiss him--the cocoa had to cool, after all. He returned the kiss, settling his other arm around his boyfriend and pulling him a little closer. 

After a minute or two of slow kissing, Gabriel's lips disappeared. "Eyes closed," came the gentle reminder, and Sam kept them shut, only to feel Gabriel's lips reappear and press insistently at his. After a moment or two, he opened his mouth, and then Gabriel opened his, and Sam felt liquid flowing into his mouth. He raised an eyebrow, confused, but understood a second or two later when he tasted what he had to admit was the most amazing hot chocolate he'd ever drunk. He hummed his appreciation, and then pushed his tongue into Gabriel's mouth, looking for any remnants. 

Gabriel let the kiss go on for a few moments, and then pulled back, only to repeat the process, feeding Sam the hot chocolate sip by sip. No one had ever done that for Sam before, and he found himself enjoying it quite a lot. Sam began to drift along in a very happy place. 

"OH GOD MY EYES!" Sam's own eyes snapped open, to see a startled Gabriel in his lap kissing him. They both looked over at the door, where Dean, in that grey robe of his, had his arm thrown up over his eyes. "If you two are going to suck each other's tonsils out, do it somewhere else!"

Neither one of them could help it; they both burst out laughing. Sam planned to make some sort of a protest, but Gabriel slid off his lap and grabbed the full mug of hot chocolate. "Okay, Dean," he said in a tone that let Sam know he wasn't going to let this one go. He held out a hand to Sam and helped him up, then pulled him out of the kitchen, past his red-faced brother who was still trying his best not to look at the two of them. 

Somehow, Sam wasn't particularly surprised when Gabriel pulled him into Dean's man-cave. "What? This is somewhere else," the archangel said when Sam shook his head. 

Sam pointed to the paused slasher movie on the TV. "He's going to come back, and he's going to be mad," he said, though he allowed Gabriel to push him down onto the couch and climb onto his lap. 

"Do I look like someone who gives a damn?" Gabriel retorted. "Now," he said, "Before I let you share the rest of the hot chocolate, I want to hear all about how I was right and you were wrong." 

Sam sighed, but nodded. "It's delicious," he admitted. "And tastes even better with you. I was wrong, and you were right; I'll never drink Swiss Miss again." 

"Good," Gabriel retorted, heat in his gaze. "Get ready to open up, then." He took a drink of the hot chocolate, and then pressed his lips to Sam's, who dutifully closed his eyes and opened his mouth. 

All was right in their world. 

For about five minutes. 

"JESUS FUCK YOU TWO GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"


	3. Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone needs to take my keyboard away from me. ...Please?
> 
> Okay, this was supposed to be all a big funny joke and then the characters took it in a COMPLETELY different direction and I don't know what I just wrote, except that it at least has a happy ending. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Gabriel snickered quietly as he let himself into Sam's room and locked the door behind him. This wouldn't be a prank for the ages, or one to tell the kids (i.e., Jack) about, but he was still looking forward to seeing Sam's reaction--it would undoubtedly be perfect. 

Making sure he wasn't making any more noise than he usually did, he padded into the room, clad only in a T-shirt and boxers, and walked over to his side of the bed. Sam made a sleepy noise, but he could tell the hunter wasn't completely under--which was perfect. Grinning, as Sam couldn't see the expression on his face in the dark, he lifted up the covers and climbed in beside him. 

It was another minute or so, just as Sam was drifting off, when Gabriel twisted around so he could set his bare feet onto Sam's shins. His bare feet that he'd spent the last half-hour chilling in a nearby snowbank for the purposes of this prank. It took a second or two for the cold to register, and then Sam shrieked, throwing himself backwards out of the bed to the floor, gun in hand. Gabriel burst out laughing, even when a shot went off in his direction. 

"What the _fuck?_ " Sam demanded, reaching over to turn on a light before looking over the edge of the bed at Gabriel, who now had tears in his eyes. He pointed the gun away from Gabriel, only to quickly train it on Castiel when the other angel appeared in their bedroom. 

"Sam! Are you all right? I heard you yell, and then--"

Gabriel didn't see what happened next, because he accidentally rolled far enough that he fell off the other side of the bed. Oh well. He still had the memory of Sam shrieking like a girl to sustain him. 

The door shook as someone tried the door and found it locked. "Sammy?" Dean called. 

Gabriel heard Sam groan. "I'm okay, Cas, Dean," he said, loudly enough to be heard through the door. "Gabriel just thinks he's funny." 

There was a grunt from outside the door, and then retreating footsteps. Gabriel was still laughing when Castiel rounded the bed to his side, looking down at him. "What did he do this time?" he asked Sam. 

"He put cold feet--you know what, never mind," Sam was clearly fully awake now, because he seemed to realize it would take too long to explain the 'joke' to Castiel. "We're fine. Could you please leave us?"

"Very well," Castiel replied, winging his way away while Gabriel wiped tears from his eyes. 

Sam looked murderous when he finally rounded the corner of the bed. He'd set his gun down somewhere, but he was clearly not enjoying this as much as Gabriel was. "Ohohoho Sam--" Gabriel started, and was surprised when Sam grabbed his bicep and hauled him bodily to his feet. "Wow, Sam, warn a guy before you do something so swoon-worthy," he managed, only to be shocked when Sam dragged him, not to the bed, but to the door, unlocked it, opened it, shoved Gabriel out into the hallway, and slammed and locked the door behind him. "Huh?" Gabriel blinked at the door on the other side of the hallway. "Sam?" he asked, turning back toward the door to his mate's room. "Sam, c'mon, it was just a joke." The lock wasn't, of course, an obstacle for Gabriel, but he respected Sam enough not to just walk through it like it wasn't there. 

"Sleep on the couch tonight." He hadn't heard Sam's voice be that cold toward him since he'd been killing Dean every day, and he was surprised and dismayed by exactly how much it hurt. 

"Sam--I'm sorry," he said, hoping that an apology would fix things; it usually did. 

"Go. Away." 

Gabriel's shoulders slumped, and he turned to go. Sam clearly didn't want to see him again tonight. He didn't like how alone that made him feel, so he headed for Dean's man-cave, where he'd last seen the sandy-haired man. 

Dean looked up when he walked in, and shook his head. "No. Nope. Not doing this. What have I told you about discussing your 'relationship' with my brother with me?" he demanded. 

Gabriel eyed him balefully. The poor kid was so closeted, he was somewhere to the _south_ of Narnia. "Don't," he sighed. 

"Exactly." Dean shot him with finger-guns, and Gabriel turned and left the room. Whatever else was true, Dean clearly didn't want to talk to him. 

So, he went to the library, where he found his little brother. Castiel was pouring over some old tome, but at least nodded politely to him when he came in. Gabriel took that as an invitation to slump into the chair across from him. "I fucked up," he announced dramatically. 

"Perhaps," replied the seraph, whom Gabriel glared at for agreeing with him. "Or perhaps not. Sam has forgiven you for your pranks before." 

"He's never thrown me out of the room before!" Gabriel complained. "He told me to sleep on the couch!" 

"You don't need to sleep," Castiel noted. 

"Damn it, Cas, that's not the point! The point is, he threw me out!" Gabriel nearly made a face at the sound of the whine in his own voice. Since when had he become so attached to this--to _any_ human? Who was Sam Winchester, to make him whine to his little brother about his relationship with him? "Shit," Gabriel said, eyes widening. "Shit, shit shit."

"What?" Castiel asked, his tone bemused as he looked up from his book. "Is something else wrong?"

"No. No, I just--I gotta go...somewhere." Gabriel spread his wings, and flew to a deserted beach, where he allowed himself to have a mild panic attack before following the train of thought he'd been pursuing earlier. Why _did_ it matter so much what Sam thought of him? Why _had_ it hurt so much when Sam had thrown him out of his room, his space? It was a stupid question, because he knew why--as much as he might pretend sometimes, he wasn't as clueless as Dean. "Well. _Fuck,_ " he told the beach, before he threw himself back on the sand and stared petulantly up at the stars. 

Morning found him huddled miserably outside Sam's door, looking as if he'd been there all night even though he hadn't. Sam, in fact, nearly tripped over him on his way to the bathroom. He sighed when Gabriel tried to tell him about his epiphany. "Not until I've had coffee," Sam told him, still in that ice-cold tone from last night. 

"...Okay." Gabriel frowned, watching Sam disappear into the bathroom, but then realized that Sam had handed him an idea of what to do next. So, Gabriel made his way to the kitchen and made coffee, just the way Sam liked it, and started preparing an egg white omelette and some toast for his hunter.

Sam narrowed his eyes when he appeared in the kitchen to find his coffee already poured for him and his breakfast nearly finished, but he took a seat and sipped at his mug until Gabriel finished breakfast and set it in front of him. "Is this your idea of an apology?" Sam asked as he eyed the food and then took a careful bite. 

"No. Sam. Look--I'm just going to say this. I realized it last night, after I fucked up. I love you." He hadn't ever said those words to Sam before.

Sam paused, fork halfway to his mouth, and stared at Gabriel for a moment or two before shaking his head. "That's not funny, Gabriel." He sounded hurt now. 

"I mean it, Sam, I love you," Gabriel persisted. "You have no idea--last night I felt like I was two inches tall and that my entire immortal life had come crashing to an end. I thought I'd just be able to go somewhere else, laugh it off, start a fling with someone else. But I couldn't. I couldn't go anywhere, or do anything. Because I wanted to apologize to you so badly. Because I--I love you." 

Sam blinked slowly. "You're serious," he said finally, still a hint of a question at the end. 

Gabriel nodded. "Yeah, I am. I didn't even think I was still capable of falling in love, but...here we are. And I know I fucked up last night, bad, with a stupid prank, and I know I don't deserve another chance, but...please, Sam? Please let me try to make it up to you?"

Sam stared across the table at him, thinking. Eventually, he jabbed a fork in Gabriel's direction. "No pranks for a month." 

"No pranks for a month," Gabriel agreed gratefully, nodding and then sighing with relief. "And I'll cook for you. Every day. And, um, do chores and stuff. Whatever you don't like to do." 

Sam's lips quirked up in a smile. "You really do love me," he said, shaking his head. He pushed his chair back from the table a little ways, and held out his arms. "Come here?" 

Gabriel practically catapulted himself around the table and into Sam's arms. "Thank you thank you thank you," he said, throwing his own arms around Sam's neck. "I promise I won't fuck up this time." 

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Sam said, but he was smiling now. "One more thing."

"What?"

Sam tapped him on the end of his nose with his fork, and then leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "I love you too, Gabriel."


	4. Snow

"Yep, just like that, Jack." They were in the field behind the bunker, currently teaching Jack how to make snow angels. Gabriel was still snickering at the concept, while Castiel seemed to think it was cute. "Now stand up and jump out," Sam instructed. "Then look at it. See? It looks like an angel in robes." Dean muttered something under his breath about angels, and Sam swatted him on the back of the head with a gloved hand. "Be nice," he told his brother. 

"I still don't see why we all gotta stand out here freezing our asses off--" Dean started. 

"Just because Dad never let us be kids doesn't mean Jack doesn't get to be," Sam interrupted him as Jack studied the snow angel he'd made. "It's his first major snowfall; give him a break. Don't make me whitewash you; I totally could now. Jerk." 

"Yeah right, bitch," Dean shot back, but he quieted. 

"Can we build a snowman?" Jack wanted to know. 

"What is whitewashing?" Castiel asked at the same time. 

"Sure, Jack. Just pack some snow together and then start rolling a ball--it's easier than it looks, with this kind of snow," Sam told the youngest Winchester. "Here, I'll help you get started," he added, crouching down and packing together some snow. 

Meanwhile, Gabriel had turned his head to listen to Castiel's question. "Come over here, and I'll show you, little brother. Want to help, Dean?" the archangel asked, walking a little ways to the side to avoid trampling on Jack's latest work of art. He grinned when Castiel followed him. 

Dean apparently sensed the danger inherent in wrestling with a couple of angels, because he shook his head no. "I'll just watch," he said, folding his arms across his chest and leaning against a fence post. 

While Jack rolled the snow into a larger and larger ball, Gabriel solemnly crouched down in the snow and beckoned to Castiel. "First you have to get close to the ground," he explained. Sam glanced over, shaking his head; he wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen, but he suspected Gabriel's prank might backfire on him. 

Or not, as Castiel dutifully crouched down next to Gabriel, studying the snow in front of them. "And then?" he asked. 

"Then I do THIS!" Gabriel crowed, grabbing Castiel by the back of the neck and shoving him face-first into the snow. The archangel jumped on the seraph's back and started shoveling snow down the back of Castiel's trench coat. Both Sam and Jack paused to watch the two brothers wrestle. 

Well. One brother wrestle. "...Then what?" came Castiel's unruffled but muffled tone beneath the snow. 

It brought Gabriel up short. "You're, um, you're supposed to--you know what, never mind. You are OFFICIALLY helpless, little bro," the archangel said, shaking his head and getting up off of Castiel. 

"Is this like one of those tasting molecules things?" Castiel asked as he raised his head up, covered in snow. 

"Yes, yes it is," Gabriel retorted, making a disgusted sound and stomping his way back over to the Winchesters and Jack. 

Dean smirked at him. "Angels don't feel cold, huh?" he asked. 

"They do if they want to!" Gabriel protested, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. "Unless they're _him_ ," he said, turning and stabbing a finger toward Castiel, who had stood up and was watching them, both completely confused and completely covered in snow. " _He's_ hopeless." 

"Nuh-uh," Jack protested, suddenly beaming. "He's a snow angel, Uncle!" Everyone but Castiel, who was still looking thoroughly confused, burst out laughing.


	5. Vacation

Gabriel had Plans for tonight; Sam was supposed to get home from a hunt with Dean and Cas, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take advantage of the opportunity to spend some time with his boyfriend. And if the world decided to try to end itself in the next twenty-four hours, it could go to hell. 

All of that changed the instant Gabriel saw Sam's face. The hunter didn't have to say a word for Gabriel to know just exactly how wrong the hunt had gone. Cas and Dean looked exhausted, too, but the archangel was focused on the gigantic arms wrapping themselves around him. "I missed you," Sam murmured into his neck, and Gabriel's heart melted. 

Using angel radio, he sent a quick note to Cas. _I'm taking Sam on a vacation. Unless the world is ending, I don't want to hear from you or your bond-mate for at LEAST a week._ Castiel wasn't actually angel-bonded with Dean, but that didn't stop Gabriel from giving him a hard time about it. 

Castiel gave the archangel a tired nod, and Gabriel led Sam to their room. With a sigh and a thought, he put out all the candles and hid the other things he'd left out for their evening. Once they were in the room, he gently undressed his hunter and then climbed into bed with him, so he could hold him while Sam wept. He was glad that whatever had done this to Sam was dead; otherwise, he'd have some divine retribution to rain down, and Sam didn't enjoy that nearly as much as he did. 

He kept running his hands through Sam's hair and making soothing noises until the hunter was fast asleep, and then, with a snap, transferred them and some of their belongings to the type of private hotel in the Carribean where you were practically the only guest, and where your room opened directly onto a section of the beach that was reserved just for you. He opened the sliding door to the beach and the windows, put in a quick call to room service, and then snuggled down next to his hunter and fell asleep--or at least, as close to it as an angel could come. 

Gabriel was going to see to it that Sam had a _real_ vacation for once.


	6. Scarves

"I have a present for you. But we have to go outside, first." Gabriel was bouncing on his toes. 

Sam eyed him suspiciously. "Is this going to be a prank?" he asked. 

"No! I swear!" Gabriel made a sign over his heart. "Cross my heart and hope to die. I made you something, now hurry up and get your coat on!" It was cold outside--it hadn't snowed yet, but based on the weather forecast, it would start any minute. 

Sam sighed, but did as requested, slipping on his winter coat and a knitted hat before following Gabriel out of the bunker. The archangel had nothing in his gloved hands, but that didn't mean anything, what with his ability to snap nearly anything and everything into existence. 

"Okay! Now! Close your eyes and bend down," Gabriel's amber eyes were glittering with mischief.

"You _sure_ this isn't another prank?" Sam asked, eyeing his boyfriend suspiciously before closing his eyes and bending down as requested. 

"Promise!" Gabriel chirped. "Okay, now hold still." Sam felt some sort of...cloth...draped over his neck. Then it was draped over his neck again, and again, and again. 

Sam snorted. "A scarf? Gabriel, I really don't need--"

"Shh. Keep your eyes closed a little longer," the archangel told him. "Juuuust a little--there we go. You can open them, now." 

What Sam had been about to say died on his lips as he realized what Gabriel had done. Wrapped around the archangel's neck was one end of a Fourth Doctor scarf: garish and very much overlong. As Sam straightened up, he realized that the other end of it had been wrapped around his own neck, and he couldn't help but chuckle. 

"You like it?" Gabriel prompted, grinning. 

Sam felt at it. "Very much," he confirmed, playing with his end. "You made this?"

"Yup. Being immortal gives you a lot of time to learn to crochet. And knit. And a whole bunch of other words that shouldn't be spelled that way, but are. Wanna take a walk?" Gabriel asked, beaming up at him. 

Sam leaned down to kiss him and then interlaced their gloved fingers. "Thank you, Gabriel," he said. "And yes. Let's go for a walk." They set off hand in hand, tethered together by the ridiculous, but wonderful, scarf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have never, ever asked for fanart before, but if anything I wrote ever deserved fanart, it's these two idiots held together by a Fourth Doctor Scarf. Just sayin'.


	7. Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of the 'vacation' prompt. Because I can XD.
> 
> I meant this prompt to be the brightness of the sun reflecting off of snow, but then my brain happened. Trust me to go to a tropical destination for vaguely holiday-themed prompts.

"Nnngh. Turn down the sun," Sam murmured, shoving his head under Gabriel's and waking the archangel up. 

Sam had a point, Gabriel thought, when he opened his eyes. The walls were painted white, and even though he was turned away from the sight of the sun reflecting off of the water, the light was still blinding. Groaning, he flicked his hand, and gauzy curtains spread over the windows and sliding glass door. It reduced the amount of light coming into the room significantly. 

Gabriel stretched, and propped himself up on an elbow, giving Sam even more shade in which to hide his head. He smiled as he watched Sam slowly regain consciousness. "Hey there," he whispered, when Sam's eyes fully opened. 

"Gabriel?" Sam glanced around, frowning. "Where are we?"

Gabriel leaned forward and gave Sam a soft kiss, then pulled back. "On vacation," he said. 

"What? Where?" Sam sat up, rubbing at his eyes and looking around. 

"Somewhere with sun, sand, and room service. Does it matter?" Gabriel asked with a roll of his eyes. "Now, lay back down, sleeping in is standard on vacation." 

"It's so bright," Sam said, taking in the--well, it was a suite, not a room, although the layout was open. He chuckled and kissed Gabriel when the archangel went to protest again. "I have to pee. I'll be right back," he promised, getting out of bed and going in search of the bathroom (he found a closet first). 

Gabriel propped himself up further so he could watch Sam walk away--always a tempting view, and then waited patiently for his Moose to come back.

It took Sam some time, because he stopped to look out of the sliding glass door on his way back. "Wow," he breathed. "Gabriel...is this...real?"

"It's a real resort," the archangel confirmed from the bed. "I didn't snap up anything but a reservation. Well. And some lube," he said, wiggling a bottle of it in Sam's direction. He saw various emotions flit across Sam's face--consternation, loss, sheer bloody-mindedness--and rolled his eyes. "Look. We have a couple of hours before breakfast is delivered. Since we're both awake, you can either argue with me about how the world will end if you aren't in the bunker to take its pills away for a couple of days...Or," and here he waggled his eyebrows, "You can come fuck your boyfriend. Your choice." 

Sam blinked, whatever he was about to say forgotten as he focused--intently now--on Gabriel. He stalked closer, and Gabriel threw back the sheet to pose provocatively, grinning widely when he saw Sam's eyes dilate. "See anything you like here, big boy?"

Sam half-pounced on him, dragging him into the middle of the bed before kissing him deeply. "Thank you," Sam whispered when they broke apart. Gabriel knew it was because he wasn't making Sam talk about the hunt; it would all come out later, but not until his hunter had sex, sleep, and food--not necessarily in that order. "You sure?" he added. It was something that Gabriel both loved and that frustrated him to no end--after Asmodeus, not everything had come easily for the archangel, and Sam always double-checked if he was, ah, 'up' for bottoming, even when he proposed it. 

Gabriel rolled his eyes, but the huff he gave was fond. "Yes, Sam," he said, leaning up to kiss him again. When Sam had to pull away to gasp for air, Gabriel rolled over and pushed his way up to his hands and knees. "Assuming you _do_ it already." 

Sam laid his body over Gabriel, and snagged the lube with one hand. "Consent is sexy," he growled in Gabriel's ear, and just then, Gabriel couldn't help but agree with him. Still, he pushed back against Sam and wiggled his ass, just to be a brat. "Behave," he told Gabriel, sitting up so he could lube up his fingers. 

"Never!" Gabriel laughed. He surged forward, trying to 'escape,' but Sam caught him with one arm around his middle--and in the process managed to get lube just about everywhere: on the bed, across Gabriel's midsection, on his back...and a little on the fingers he was actually aiming for. 

"Damn it, Gabriel," Sam said, but he was laughing too. "Hold still." 

"Nope," Gabriel almost managed to wriggle out of Sam's hold with the help of the lube Sam had spilled, but Sam held him tight. Gabriel was elated that he felt free enough to play these sorts of games--after Asmodeus, he'd thought he'd never do anything like this, but Sam had had the patience and love and stubbornness to bring out Gabriel's playful side again. 

"Don't...make me...spank you," Sam gasped. Gabriel just laughed harder until Sam finally managed to insert a lubed finger. It felt amazing, and Gabriel slowly relaxed in Sam's hold. 

Still, he had a reputation to maintain. "Promises, promises," he started, but then let out a loud moan and went practically boneless when Sam's searching finger found his prostate. 

"Oh, is THAT your off button?" Sam teased, rubbing it gently as he set Gabriel back down onto the bed. 

"Mmmm. It's _a_ button," Gabriel retorted, but he kept still as Sam prepared him--not that he needed the prep, but he knew it made Sam feel better to do it. And, hey, Sam's fingers felt _amazing_. "Yes, right there." 

Sam quipped, "You are such a power bottom," but while there was heat to his tone, there was no recrimination. 

"Wouldn't have me any other--ah!--way," Gabriel snorted as Sam's magic fingers did their work. He whined when they disappeared. 

"No, but I _will_ have you," Sam said, positioning himself and then slowly thrusting in. Once he'd bottomed out, he laid over Gabriel's back again so he could kiss his boyfriend's neck. 

"Damn it, Sam, move!"

"Power bottom!"

There was a bit more playful wrestling before Sam settled into a steady rhythm and an angle that had Gabriel gasping and moaning in his arms. Sam loved how vocal Gabriel was; there was never any doubt that he was enjoying what they were doing (if there had been, Sam would have stopped immediately). Plus, his torso was long enough that they could still exchange kisses, albeit sloppy ones, in this position. "Gabriel. You feel...so...good," he gasped out. 

"You too, Sam," Gabriel groaned from underneath him. It wasn't too long before Gabriel gave his trademark, "Sam? Sam! SAM!" warning. Sam reached down and grasped Gabriel's cock, giving it a few firm tugs as the archangel came all over Sam's hand and the bedsheets. It took Sam a few additional thrusts, but soon he was coming too, his vision narrowing before bursting into colors behind his eyelids. 

Sam stayed there, panting, for a little while, and then carefully pulled out and flopped down onto the bed on his back. "Fuck." 

Gabriel twitched a finger, and all the mess disappeared before he dropped bonelessly to the mattress. "Mm-hmm," he agreed, grabbing a pillow to hug. 

Sam laughed softly, and pushed Gabriel's damp hair back from his face. "Did I tire you out?" he joked, pulling himself closer to Gabriel so they could cuddle. Not that either of them would ever admit that what they were doing was cuddling. 

"Mmm-hmm," Gabriel agreed. 

Sam kissed him on the forehead. "Go back to sleep, then, angel," he told Gabriel, closing his own eyes. 

They were both fast asleep by the time room service arrived.


	8. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of 'Vacation' and 'Bright.' And then I'm probably done with this little story and the drabbles will no longer be continued. Probably. 
> 
> Note to self: Tomorrow, less tropical beach vacation, more Kansas in winter.
> 
> Warning: Feels happened. You weren't using yours, right?

It wasn't until that night that Gabriel coaxed the full story of the hunt from Sam. They'd eaten, they'd swum, they'd fooled around, but it wasn't until after Gabriel had made love to Sam out on their private beach (on a towel, thank you very much; sand was NOT fun) while the stars had come out that the words came out too. Sam held Gabriel tight to him as he told him about the Djinn family they'd discovered that subsisted only on children. The dark settled over them like a blanket as Sam let out a sob and admitted that one got away from their ambush and killed the children they'd hoped to find still alive. 

Gabriel held Sam close as he described the scene in the dank warehouse; five children of various ages held up by chains, glassy eyes staring accusingly at the hunters who were too late to save them. Worse, the escaped Djinn had done something, and not even Cas had been able to track it...so they hadn't even been able to get revenge. They'd just buried the bodies, knowing that the parents would never find out what had happened to their children, and skipped town faster than you could say 'serial killer drifters.' 

At a stop on the way home, Dean had gotten blackout drunk and ended up in a bar fight. Only Cas' presence and quick thinking had kept him out of jail and/or from getting alcohol poisoning. Sam had stayed in their hotel room, thinking of all the things they could have done to save the children. Gabriel sighed; he wasn't sure which brother had the least healthy coping mechanism. But Sam was talking to him now, so Gabriel rubbed his back and made soothing noises until the hunter finished his tale. 

Gabriel leaned up to kiss Sam's forehead. He could have said a great deal, but Sam knew it all already--you couldn't save everyone; you could do everything perfectly and still lose people during a hunt, and so forth. So, he remained silent and let Sam cry, recalling all the times after Asmodeus that Sam had held him until he'd cried himself out. Sam eventually stopped, and Gabriel ran his hands through the other man's hair. "Better?" he whispered. 

"Yeah," Sam said with a sigh. 

"Bed? Or sleep out here?" Gabriel asked over the sounds of the ocean lapping at the shore and the wind sighing through the palm trees.

"Bed," Sam replied. Gabriel wasn't that surprised; his Sam was a little shy, and while Gabriel was sure no one would stumble upon them in their state of undress on the beach, Sam couldn't be. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and transported them to the enormous hotel bed. Sam got his typical octopus-like hold on Gabriel, which made the archangel smile--not that Sam could see it in the dark. "Good night, Sam," Gabriel told him after shifting around to find a comfortable spot. 

"'Night, Gabe." Sam's voice was still raspy, and Gabriel held him until he fell asleep.


	9. Cloudy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Much like clouds--fluffy, but with some feels in there for good measure.

At first, Sam had been shocked when Gabriel had asked to come out running with him. As they got ready, though, he recognized the way Gabriel's eyes were darting from side to side, the way he kept his hands close together like they were still in chains: the bunker was making Gabriel feel just a little bit claustrophobic, like he was back in Asmodeus' clutches. So, Sam said nothing when it took Gabriel twice as long to get ready as it did Sam. 

When they finally did get outside, Sam saw Gabriel take a deep breath and began to feel better--until Gabriel looked up at the sky and deflated. The sky looked as if some crazy artist had applied a black-and-white filter to a picture of the ocean; the gigantic thunderheads were swirling and completely blotted out the sun. It was cold out, as well, and between that and the variations on brown inherent in the scenery...the great outdoors clearly wasn't superior to the great indoors today. If Sam squeezed his eyes shut, their surroundings even kind of looked like the inside of the bunker. There went that idea. Although...yes, maybe that could work. He'd have hell to pay later for not stretching, but, oh well. It was a small price to pay for getting Gabriel away from the demons in his head.

"Race you to the river!" Sam was fairly certain that Gabriel knew the spot he meant along his usual running route, a few miles away. "Last one there digs all the graves for a month!" Not that Gabriel ever actually stuck around for that part, anyway, but Sam could hope. He took off running, full-out, toward the river. 

"Hey!" Gabriel squawked from the bunker entrance. "No fair!" Sam heard him start to run behind him, though there was no way he'd actually catch up with Sam on those short legs of his vessel's. Without cheating, at any rate, which Sam completely expected his boyfriend to do. 

"'Bye, Gabriel!" Sam upped his speed. He could still hear Gabriel running somewhere behind him, but the sound slowly faded away. Each time it did, he slowed a little so Gabriel could keep him in sight. He just hoped that the impromptu competition would help Gabriel to stop feeling so confined. 

The first time he heard the sheet-like snap of angel wings, Sam laughed aloud. That was what he'd been hoping for--that Gabriel would take to the proverbial skies. He felt a rush of wind, and suddenly Gabriel was running some distance in front of him. "Cheater!" he yelled, pushing himself to go faster. 

He caught up to and passed Gabriel several times, and each time he did, Gabriel would fly a little ways in front of him and take off running again--no one was out in the middle of nowhere on such a cold gray morning to wonder how the angel managed it. Needless to say, Gabriel made it down to the river first. Sam, having run rather harder than he was used to, leaned against a tree, panting, when he finally caught up to his boyfriend. 

"Winner gets to decide whether the loser digs the graves shirtless or not, right?" Gabriel chirped from the picnic bench where he was sitting, nonchalantly swinging his legs. "Because I totally vote shirtless." 

Sam chuckled, still gulping in air. "Cheaters can't win," he managed. 

"As I recall, someone left the starting block before someone else even knew it was a race," Gabriel retorted, but he hopped off of his picnic table to come over and hug Sam. "Thank you," he said, very quietly. 

"You're welcome," Sam said, equally quietly, meeting Gabriel's sad eyes for a moment or two. Louder, he said, "I hope you aren't exhausted, because I may need you to carry me back to the bunker after that." 

"I'm not carrying your gigantor ass anywhere," Gabriel said, stepping back and shaking his head. "Your legs still work." 

"Fine, fine." Sam turned and started homeward, this time at a brisk walk, and Gabriel fell into step beside him. "But see if I carry you the next time you get hurt on a hunt."

"When have I ever gotten hurt on a hunt?" Gabriel protested. "I never get hurt. You, on the other hand, get hurt _all the time_."

"I'm human! Of course I'm going to get hurt more often than you!" The banter persisted as they walked back to the bunker, and Sam was glad to see how expressive Gabriel was, throwing his arms around and rolling his eyes. It didn't matter that the sky was gray, or that freezing rain started to fall on their way back: Gabriel had just needed to be reminded that he was no longer a captive, and what better way to do that than to encourage him to stretch his literal wings?


	10. Eats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cas takes the brothers on a wild goose chase--and then magic happens.

"Fine, but NEXT time, tell us that first, Cas!" Dean was reading the angel the riot act as they walked back into the Bunker. They'd driven across three states for a case that wasn't a case. Worse, the brothers could have told Cas that it wasn't a case if he'd just told them the whole story in the first place. 

Sam sighed and shoved his hair back from his face as he stepped into the Bunker--the only place besides the Impala he'd ever felt at home. Glancing down at the map area, he stopped dead--and almost got pushed over the railing when Dean walked into him from behind. "Hey!" Dean complained. "One side!" Sam did as instructed, stepping to the side so that Dean could see--and smell. The Bunker had never smelled so good--it smelled like a holiday commercial looked.

The main room was bustling with activity, much as it had been when the refugees had been present. Instead of them, though, were Sam and Dean's friends, carrying various dishes to the map table, which already looked a bit overloaded. "Hi, boys!" Donna said from downstairs, setting what looked like a sweet potato casserole down and then waving madly up at them. "Happy Thanksgiving!"

"I can't believe you actually tricked them, little bro, I'm proud of you!" called Gabriel. He had a bowl full of ingredients which he was mixing with a wooden spoon near the bottom of the stairs. His apron--well, it *only* said 'Kiss the Cook' because Jody had put her foot down about what it said originally. Claire and her 'sisters' were there; Claire was currently stealing fried onions off of the green bean casserole. Ketch was looking slightly confused, while Jack was making construction-paper decorations of dubious quality--there was evidence of his other work hanging all over the room. 

"Thank you," beamed Castiel from somewhere behind them. 

Sam did a double-take, and then slowly made his way down the stairs. "What's all this?" he asked his boyfriend, although it was fairly obvious. He, of course, also followed the instructions on the apron. 

Gabriel smiled after the kiss. "You said the best Thanksgiving you ever had was at a Cracker Barrel once. Well, I might have mentioned that to Jody, who talked to Donna, and we sort of came up with a plan. Cas talked you into leaving, and we've been decorating and cooking, and--" Sam kissed him again to shut him up. 

"I didn't let him near anything that wasn't a dessert or a beverage, though I think he snuck something in the sweet potatoes while I wasn't looking," Jody said, stepping up to hug Sam. "So eat them at your own risk." 

"This is amazing," Sam said, as Donna barreled into Dean to give him a proper back-breaking hug. "And you all came all this way? We could have come up to your place--" he started, but Jody shook her head. 

"No. You deserve a proper Thanksgiving, at your actual home," she said, shaking her head. "Turkey is out in ten, so you should find yourself something to drink--Gabriel might tell you what's spiked and what's not, but I doubt it, so best assume it's spiked. And then we can all sit down and eat." 

"I made rum punch," Gabriel grinned, as Jody stepped back and Donna hugged Sam. "And apple cider. And eggnog, just in case anyone wanted that. And there's beer, of course. And just wait until you see the pies!" he exclaimed, which actually earned him a hug from Dean. 

It wasn't long before hugs had been exchanged, everyone had found something palatable to drink, a rather small and unimportant fire that had nothing to do with Castiel had been put out, and everyone was seated around the table, looking at the amazing turkey that Jody had cooked. Before handing Dean the carving knife, Jody made everyone go around the table and say what they were thankful for. 

"My friends. And family," Sam was nearly in tears when his turn came. "And Gabriel, I guess." Everyone laughed, while Sam pulled Gabriel's hand up so he could kiss his knuckles--he had no doubt who had been the main instigator behind the plot to create well-fed, well-adjusted Winchesters.


	11. Icy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A human AU so I can get one of my favorite tropes, some hurt/comfort, going on up in here.

Sam knew better than to go jogging on a day like this, but he had hoped that the precipitation would hold off until after his run. It didn't. He was several miles from his dorm room when the clouds opened and freezing rain began falling. He hunched his shoulders and turned around, heading back to the dorm. He was the only one out on the street; no one else had ventured out so early in the morning in this weather. 

He managed maybe a half mile before things began to get slick and he was forced to slow down. The rain was freezing as it hit the pavement, filling in the tiny cracks that usually existed and creating next to no friction between his shoes and the ground, even though he was wearing his best running shoes. His nose caught the scent of something delicious, and, just as he turned to look for the source of the smell, his feet slid out from under him. 

If Sam had been a normal size, he'd probably have been fine, but it turns out that the old saying is true--the bigger you are, the harder you fall. He yelped in surprise as he went down, and then cried out in actual pain when he landed. For a moment or two, he was too dazed to figure out where he was, let alone where he was hurt. "Shit! Are you okay? Just lay still, I'm coming." He turned his head toward the sound of the rambling, and realized that the speaker had come out of a nearby shop that looked like it wasn't even open yet. The man was average height, wearing an apron over an ugly Christmas sweater. He had honey-gold hair that looked to be dusted in snow--though after a minute, Sam's brain caught up enough to identify it as flour, not snow. 

As the man approached, Sam took stock of his injuries. He was banged up, but he hadn't, at least, hit his head. His ankle was killing him, though; he was pretty sure it wasn't broken, but it still hurt like a bitch. He managed to sit up before the man arrived, but not climb completely back to his feet. "Woah there," the man said, setting a hand to his chest. "Don't want to make things any worse. I'll call an ambulance, and then get you inside my bakery." 

"I'm--no, please." Sam gave the man his best puppy dog eyes. "I don't have insurance. And I didn't hit my head. I'm fine, I think, except for my ankle."

The man looked into Sam's eyes, and the runner realized that his eyes were a beautiful golden color he didn't think he'd ever seen on anyone before. "I hear you there. If I didn't have to..." the man sighed, although there were wrinkles at the ends of his eyes that suggested he tended to laugh more often than not. "My name's Gabe," he said, holding out his hand to shake. 

"I'm Sam," he said, returning the grip. 

"College student? I thought it was Christmas break," Gabe said, throwing Sam's arm over his shoulder and slowly helping him to his feet--where he found that, yes, he could /technically/ put weight on the ankle, but no, he didn't really want to if he didn't have to. "Let's get you someplace warm, at least." 

"It is Break. I--I don't have anywhere to go." Sam hated how pathetic that made him sound, but it was the truth. 

"I know how that goes," the baker said wryly. "Shit for parents?"

"Um. Mom died when I was little. Dad--yeah," Sam tried not to lean his entire weight on Gabe as they walked the few yards to the door of his bakery, but it was hard not to; Gabe was the perfect height to substitute for a crutch, and he seemed strong enough to take it. 

"Yeah. Me too, only both of 'em are like that. Can you balance like that for a second while I get the door?"

"Yeah, no problem. As long as I don't put any weight on it, it's fine." Sam wondered, briefly, how he was going to get back to his empty dorm room. All of his friends were gone for the break, and Public Safety wouldn't do a thing since he wasn't on campus. 

"Okay." Gabe left Sam for a second to wrestle the door of his bakery open, and then helped Sam in. He deposited the runner in one of a few chairs that were on this side of the counter. The bakery wasn't very big, but it smelled heavenly. It was over-decorated, some might say, for Christmas, but it looked nice, Sam thought.

He hadn't eaten breakfast, and his stomach rumbled. "Sorry!" he gasped, but Gabriel just chuckled at him. 

"In my line of business, that's a compliment," he said, waving it off. "Here, put your ankle up on this one," he said, adjusting an unoccupied chair so that Sam could do as instructed. "Not very elevated, but without you sitting on the floor, that's the best we can do for now." 

"Thank you so much," Sam told him. "If you don't mind, I'll just rest here for a while and once it feels a little better, I'll go home." 

"You'll do nothing of the sort," Gabe said, waggling a finger at him. "It's just going to get worse out there, and we're a long ways from the university. You're going to sit here a few hours until my shift's done, and then I'll drive you back home." 

"Oh, I can't--" Sam started, but Gabe cut him off. 

"Yes you can," he said firmly. "I have a four-wheel-drive out back; it's no trouble. Look, I get what it's like to depend on yourself and no one else. How do you think I got this place with shit parents?" he asked, gesturing around. "But sometimes you have to let someone else help you out. Today, it's your turn. Tomorrow, maybe it's mine. Besides, if I'd known how hot you were when I saw you fall, I'd've been out there twice as fast," he added with a wink.

Gabe gave Sam no chance to reply before he disappeared behind the counter and into the back. Sam didn't remember to close his mouth until the door to the back shut behind him. His stomach rumbled again, and he glared down at it, willing it to stop. He didn't want to be any more indebted to this 'Gabe' than he already was, and he hadn't brought his wallet--not that there was much money in it anyway. 

"Good thing I work with women. I don't know why the boy scout motto is 'always be prepared' and not the girl scout motto, since it's always women that are prepared," Gabe announced, walking back into the room. He was carrying a styrofoam cup in one hand and a plate in the other. The plate held a giant pecan roll slathered with icing and two ibuprofen, while the cup was full of coffee. "Both of them had ibuprofen in their lockers. Want cream or sugar?" he asked. 

"Gabe," Sam gasped, when he tried to hand him the items, "I can't--"

"Yes you can. Now be a good boy and swallow the pills and eat your breakfast," Gabe replied with another roguish wink. "I doubt we're going to sell much of anything today, but I still have a cake to decorate in the back. Yell if you need anything, and don't even try to sneak out the front door--there's a bell, and on that ankle, I'll catch you before you make it to the next block. Okay?"

Sam blinked up at the golden-eyed man, and finally just nodded; it was the easiest response. 

"Good. Yell if you need anything else," Gabe said. He turned to go into the back, and then snapped his fingers. "Ice! God, I'd forget my own head if it wasn't screwed on. I'll be back in a second with some ice for the ankle, and THEN I'll worry about the cake."

Sam sat in stunned silence for a few moments, then shrugged, dry-swallowing the pills and sipping at the coffee before he started on the pecan roll, which turned out to be absolutely delicious. He'd insist on paying Gabe back for the meal when they finally made it to his dorm room, though he had a sneaking suspicion this 'Gabe' wouldn't be willing to take his money when he did.


	12. Frozen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A continuation of yesterday's 'Icy' fic, because I can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yesterday I wrote a story about Sam falling and twisting his ankle. Today I fell and twisted my ankle. Please forgive me if all my characters today get brand-new fuel efficient cars, ice cream, and unlimited research money. There is a method to my madness.

"Brr. Sam, it's freezing in here," Gabe complained, shivering. He'd insisted on helping Sam get back to his dorm room once he'd driven him back to campus, and the sidewalks were still icy enough Sam couldn't really complain. They'd just stepped into the main dorm living area. 

"They turn down the heat during break, and just give the few remaining students space heaters," Sam explained as he gestured around. 

"Is that even legal?" Gabe shook his head. "Tell me this place at least has an elevator."

"Um," was Sam's succinct reply. 

Gabriel glared up at him. "You don't live on the first floor, do you?"

Sam winced. "Fifth." 

"Sam! No," Gabriel said, stopping and shaking his head. "That ankle's twice its normal size and will probably get worse before it gets better. I'm not leaving you somewhere where you have to walk up and down five flights of stairs every day." 

"It'll be all right," Sam tried to assure him. "Really, once I get up there the first time, I'll just stay up there and rest it for a few days. I promise I won't go anywhere. And I have food in my room." 

"Kiddo, you're not making me feel any better. All by yourself in a dorm room during Christmas with a bum ankle?" Gabriel shook his head, and started trying to turn them around. "You can stay with me for a few days. My apartment's nothing special, but there's an elevator up to it. Seriously, how does the ADA not come down on the university like a ton of bricks?"

"Gabe, look, I _really_ appreciate everything you've done; you have no idea, but I can't just go home with you. For all I know, you're a serial killer!" Sam protested.

While the latter was clearly a joke, Gabriel still gave Sam a puppy-dog look. "You don't really think that, do you? Wait! I know!" Allowing Sam to teeter on his one good leg for a moment, Gabriel pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "It's not that early," he told whomever answered. "Look, I need you to tell someone I'm not a serial killer, okay? He's hurt and he needs to come home with me. Otherwise, he's going to spend Christmas alone in his dorm room eating Ramen. Here you go."

He lifted the phone up to Sam's ear. "Uh. Hello?" Sam said, still a bit dazed by Gabriel's reaction. 

"Merde!" There were more words, but the French swearword was the only one Sam recognized. The speaker finally grumbled his way to a halt. "I don't know who you are, but Gabriel's harmless," the voice said. " _I_ am going to kill _him_ for waking me and my bedmates up this early in the morning, but _he_ cried his way through the Titanic. Every. Single. Time. We. Watched. It. My cousin won't hurt you; all he'll do is flirt with you shamelessly and not have the guts to take it any further. Does that put your mind at ease?"

"Um. Yes?" Sam guessed. Garrulousness must run in the family. 

"Good. Tell him he owes me a bottle of something nice next time he sees me." The speaker hung up. 

Sam blinked a few times, and handed the phone back to Gabriel. "He said you owe him a bottle of something nice." 

"But he said I wasn't a serial killer?" Gabriel pressed. 

Sam nodded. "He said you were harmless. And that you cry every time you watch Titanic," he couldn't help but add. 

"Bastard. I'll show him early, next time I call him. Well? Come on," Gabriel said, resuming his efforts to turn Sam back toward the door. 

"Gabe--I don't have my wallet, or any clothes, or anything but my phone," Sam protested. "Really, I'll be fine here." 

Gabriel eyed him. "Give me your keys and I'll go up and pack you some stuff," he said finally. "But I'm not letting you limp up five flights of stairs. Tell me what you want, and I'll get it. In the meantime...why don't you sit right here?" He led Sam to a chair and helped him settle in it. 

Sam still felt awkward, but what could he do? He handed over his keys. "It's room 506. Um, just something comfortable to change into should be fine, maybe a few extra pairs of boxers. And my book--it's on my nightstand--and I guess my cell phone charger, it's next to my bed, too. The bed and dresser on the right's mine. But _really_ , you don't have to do all this..." 

"On the right. Got it," Gabriel said, smiling down at Sam. "Don't worry, I won't look through your porn stash," he said, winking. Then he seemed to catch himself. "Shit. Uh...look, I don't mean anything by the flirting, really. I get that you're an eleven out of ten and I'm just a measly five, and I don't even know if you're into guys. If it's making you uncomfortable, just tell me and I'll try to stop. And just to be clear, there are no strings attached to any of my help." 

Sam was still trying to make sense of Hurricane Gabriel, but managed to shake his head no. "It doesn't bother me," he said. "I kind of like it, but...thank you for being clear about the no strings. I do appreciate that." 

"Sooooo....does that mean you're into guys or not?" Gabriel asked, grinning. 

"That's for me to know and you to find out," Sam retorted, making Gabriel burst out laughing. 

"I _like_ you, Sam," Gabriel called, before turning to make his way toward the stairs. "Maybe this Christmas won't suck, after all!"

Sam waited, his mind going back and forth between recognizing that he needed the help and wondering why he was trusting Gabe with, well, everything. Sure, the guy seemed harmless enough--and sure, his supposed cousin had vouched for him--but what if that was all just an act? He calmed himself by reminding himself that he was much bigger than Gabe, and that if it came to a fight, he'd almost certainly be the winner. Besides, there was something about Gabe that engendered trust; Sam wasn't sure what it was, but it was there, and he was pretty sure it was genuine. The guy really did just want to help a strange kid out of a rotten situation. As Sam's ankle throbbed, he thought it might not be so bad to miss Christmas in his frozen dorm room and spend it with a truly nice guy.


	13. Fireplace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another continuation of 'Icy' and 'Frozen,' because these two won't leave me alone...

Gabriel's apartment wasn't too far from the bakery, or the university, for that matter. It wasn't high-end, but it was a nice little complex. And, as Gabriel had promised, there was an elevator that took them to the floor where he lived. 

"Oh, uh...shit. I hope you aren't allergic to dogs or anything," Gabriel said as they walked up to his apartment door and he got out his keys to unlock it. Sam could hear excited yapping and scratching from the other side. 

"Nah, I like dogs," Sam told him. 

"Oh, good." Gabriel got the door open and then helped Sam in, while a small terrier ran circles around them, alternately barking up at Sam and darting forward to sniff him. "Sorry about the mess." The apartment wasn't really _that_ messy; it was about on par with Sam's dorm room--a few things were slung haphazardly here and there or dropped where they had last been used, but for the most part, it was clean. "Down, Max," Gabriel instructed when the terrier started trying to jump up on Gabriel. 

"Don't apologize," Sam said, glancing around the space. The apartment was painted in light tones, and Gabriel had decorated it for Christmas. There was a small tree in the corner of the living room, next to a chair that faced a flat-screen TV. A couch was along a wall perpendicular to the chair, and the apartment had a faux gas 'fireplace' as well--that was between the chair and the tree. There was a green-and-red throw over the back of the couch, and it all looked very comfortable. It smelled of cooking chicken, and Sam suspected a crock pot. "You had no idea you were having company. Besides, you saw mine." 

"Sam!" Gabriel waggled his eyebrows. "You should know better by now than to give me a line like that." He helped Sam settle on the couch, insisting that he lay down and put his ankle up on one arm after taking off his shoes and socks. Max immediately jumped onto the couch to investigate Sam, who let the terrier give him a thorough sniffing before scratching his ears. "Careful, he'll never let you get up again if he likes the way you pet him," Gabriel warned, setting Sam's bag down next to the couch. He disappeared further into the apartment, and came back with a pillow, some blankets, and some more Ibuprofen, which he set on a table next to Sam. "What would you like to drink?" he asked. "I've got Pepsi, beer, OJ, milk..."

"Pepsi would be great, thanks," Sam replied as he used the pillow to get comfortable. 

"Coming right up. Oh, and the bathroom's just down the hall to the right if you need it," Gabriel said, heading for the kitchen area. "I'm going to have to take Max out for a walk here in a bit, but then he'll be good until the evening. It's cold enough he won't want to stay out for _too_ long."

"Please, do whatever you need to do. Don't let me get in your way," Sam replied as Gabriel returned with a can of Pepsi and handed it to him. 

"Okay. Let me just warm it up in here a little for you," Gabriel said, even though the apartment was warmer than Sam's dorm room already. He walked over to the fake fireplace and switched it on; Sam had to admit, the extra radiated heat felt nice. 

"Thanks, Gabe," Sam said. 

"You're welcome. Do you need anything else?"

"No, thank you," Sam replied with a shake of his head as he downed some painkillers. 

"All right. Then I'll go walk Max. We'll be back in a little while. Don't go running any marathons or anything," Gabriel said with a wink and a grin. Max jumped off the couch as soon as Gabriel picked up his leash, and waited with impatience while Gabriel fastened it on his collar. 

"I'll try not to," Sam deadpanned, offering a little wave as they left. The lull gave him some time to think. He'd suspected he was bisexual for some time, but there had never been a chance for him to act on his feelings in high school: his dad probably would've killed him, and he shuddered to think of the look on Dean's face if he had told his brother that he thought he might like guys as well as girls. 

He was pretty sure he was attracted to Gabriel--the man might think of himself as a five, but Sam would definitely rate him higher, and his personality made the rating go through the roof. Was it fair to him, though, if Sam experimented and found out that he may be attracted to guys, but didn't want to be with them _that_ way? Gabriel was obviously very comfortable with his interest in guys and seemed to have sorted out any issues he had had with his sexuality--Sam guessed that that was at least part of the reason he didn't get along with his parents. Sam...didn't really know what he was doing beyond what some internet searches about bisexuality had told him. So, he stared at the fake fire in the fake fireplace and the little tree, and thought.


	14. Angels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another continuation, but from your feedback, no one will mind XD.  
> In which Sam questions his sexuality, but in a much healthier and constructive manner than Dean would.   
> Okay, maybe he still needs to stop thinking so much. But this is a small step in the right direction.

As Sam stared at the fireplace, he slowly became aware of a little nativity scene on the coffee table. It was fairly standard, until he realized that someone had taken a sharpie and given the angel hanging above the manger buck teeth and a mustache. He reached out and retrieved the angel, only to find 'LOSERIEL' written in the same Sharpie on the back of the figure. 

Which, of course, was when Gabriel and Max came back in to the apartment. Max immediately ran to bark happily up at Sam, while Gabriel saw what Sam was holding and sighed. "Three older brothers," he explained. "Luke did it after he found out that the angel Gabriel was the one who announced the Birth." 

Sam winced, and hung the angel back up. "I've only got one, and that's plenty," he told Gabriel. 

"Yeah? Any other siblings?" Gabriel asked as he took off his coat and shoes. 

Sam shook his head and pet Max, who wriggled happily but still barked occasionally just in case Sam was an actual intruder. "Just Dean."

"Sam and Dean, huh? Better than--get this," Gabriel said, shaking his head, "Michael, Lucifer--no joke, my parents honestly named him Lucifer--Raphael, and me." 

Sam made a face. "No wonder he goes by Luke." 

"Right? He's a total jerk, though. Still hasn't figured out what _I_ did to _his_ nativity, though." Gabriel sounded a bit nostalgic as he settled in his chair. Max, apparently content now with Sam's presence, jumped up after him and settled in his lap. 

"...Do I want to ask?"

"Nope," Gabriel grinned at him. "Just...if you ever touch it, be sure to wash your hands after."

Sam laughed and made a face. "Gross!" They settled into a surprisingly comfortable silence for a few moments, and then Sam asked, "So...I take it you're not close with Luke. What about the other two?"

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Mikey inherited Dad's stick up his ass, unfortunately, and can't be seen to be associated with the family weirdo. Raphael's the peacemaker, so he still talks to me, but he's always trying to get me to give up my 'lifestyle' and become a good little member of the family flock again." 

"I'm sorry," Sam told him, feeling a genuine empathy toward the other man. 

"It's okay," Gabriel replied with a shrug. "If they're not cool enough to accept my fabulousness, then they're not worth my time. Anyway, my cousins are pretty awesome--you already met Balthazar. He's pan, like me, and I don't even know how many people are in his poly relationship right now. The number keeps going up," he explained with an eyeroll.

"You're pansexual?" Sam asked, tilting his head to the side. He'd assumed Gabriel was just garden-variety gay, but apparently, he'd been wrong. 

"Yep. If I like you, I like you," Gabriel said, shrugging and petting Max, who was already asleep on his lap. "Doesn't matter what body you're in or what body you want to be in." 

"That makes sense," Sam thought back to his earlier musings. "So...then...what do _you_ think the difference between pansexual and bisexual is?" He'd found conflicting information on the internet.

Gabriel snorted. "Just words. Most people who use bisexual actually mean they're attracted to all genders, not just two despite the name, same as pansexual people. But the term bisexual has been around longer, and through the years bisexual people have often felt minimized in the LGBTQ community, so..." he shrugged. "Different people label themselves differently, depending on how they view the whole issue and how they view themselves." He gave Sam a rather shrewd look. "Still working out what labels you want to use for yourself?"

Sam opened his mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. Gabriel was easy to talk to, and as a near-complete stranger, the stakes seemed low, even though he was attracted to the other man. "I--yeah, I guess," he said. "Okay, this is going to sound stupid, but...how do you _know_ what you are?"

Gabriel smiled at him. "Everyone wonders that, at some point. The way I like to look at it is like this: You are what you are, and whatever that is is valid. It can also change over time, although everything I've read suggests it's much more likely to change in those born female than those born male. And one label or sexuality isn't better than or worse than another--so don't get hung up on labels. I started off just calling myself queer; Balthy jumped immediately to pan and declared one Christmas that he'd marry a robot if it was hot enough. Mother nearly choked to death. So, call yourself whatever feels right for you at the time, or just say that you're not sure yet. That's okay, too." 

Sam's eyes pricked, but he forced the tears back. He'd never experienced that sort of blanket, unconditional acceptance of his potential non-heteronormativity before, and it felt good--no, it felt _amazing_. "I'm...I think I'm not sure what I am." 

Gabriel chuckled, but his amusement clearly wasn't meant to be at Sam's expense. "Well, kiddo, the good news is that you're exactly where most people figure it out--in college. Not to mention in my living room." He waggled his eyebrows again. "Just let me know if you want to experiment with guys. I _totally_ volunteer as tribute." 

"I...don't know what I want," Sam admitted, feeling shyer than normal. 

"That's fine," Gabriel soothed. "You'll figure it out. In the meantime, how about roast beef sandwiches for lunch?" he asked, getting out of his chair, displacing Max, who whined and ran over and jumped up to lay by Sam. 

Sam groaned. "That sounds awesome. Thank you, Gabriel. For everything." 

"You're welcome." Gabriel patted him on the shoulder as he went by into the kitchen to fix their lunch.


	15. Flurries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is...stretching to fit the prompt. I'm aware. But I didn't want to interrupt the little soap opera we have going on here...

Over the next couple of days, the two of them talked about how Sam wanted to become a civil rights lawyer, how Gabriel had partnered with Hannah and spent every dime of his savings to create the bakery, and many other things--although not the elephant in the room that was Sam's sexuality. Sam was glad that Gabriel seemed content, aside from a little flirting which seemed to almost come automatically to him, to let things be. They did learn that they were both single ('I'm a pretty good judge of character, Sam, but I have a bad habit of not listening to myself where my exes are concerned.') and that they liked a lot of the same TV shows and books, but Gabriel had really meant it when he'd said there were no strings attached to his offer. Plus, he seemed to enjoy Sam's company.

Sam felt guilty from the start, of course, but his guilt just got worse the longer he stayed. He was eating Gabriel's food, watching Gabriel's TV when the other man was at work, staying on Gabriel's couch, and he couldn't even walk his dog for him as a thank-you. He was broke, and had no materials to make something for Gabriel even if his talents lay in that direction...and Christmas was almost here. Sam resigned himself to getting Gabriel a late present--and to telling all of his friends to patronize the bakery once they got back. Once school was in session, he'd be working again and could afford to get Gabriel something, so that's what he'd have to do. 

"Hey, Sam," Gabriel bent down to greet Max when he got home from work. "How's the ankle today?"

"Better," Sam said, "Though the bruise looks spectacular and it's still swollen. How was work?"

"It was good. Lots of extra orders around Christmas. Then we'll get another burst around New Year's...and then nothing 'til February and Valentine's Day. Unfortunately, we have to put our _Person of Interest_ marathon on hold for today, because it's also that time of the month." He burst out laughing when he saw the look that appeared on Sam's face. "Time to balance the bakery's books," he explained, setting an armful of paperwork down on the kitchen table. "I have special software and everything, but I hate it. Who knew my fifth grade math teacher was going to be right and I'd actually have to know how to do this shit?"

Sam blinked. "If you want, I could take a look at it for you," he offered. "I'm not a math major or anything, but I'm pretty good with math and spreadsheets and things." 

He watched Gabriel's entire face light up, complete with dimples, and it made him smile. "Would you? Hannah and I both hate it, so we trade off doing it. We used to pay an accountant, but things got a little tight and we figured we could always plead ignorance and pay whatever we owed if the IRS showed up." 

"Of course. You'll have to walk me through everything, but I'll do what I can," Sam promised. 

"You've got a deal. As soon as I walk Max," Gabriel replied, fetching the dog's leash. "And we get some lunch; I'm hungry." 

"Okay," Sam agreed. While Gabriel was gone, he watched the freezing rain turn into flurries of snow in the apartment window and felt a little sorry for Gabriel and Max, who were out in it. Overall, though, he was happy--he finally had a chance to actually pay Gabriel back for all of the help he'd given him. 

A couple of hours later, they were surrounded by a mess, but it was an organized mess. Sam had commandeered Gabriel's laptop and was happily typing away into the business software. Gabriel, looking a little shell-shocked, was looking over his shoulder, with Max sitting in his lap. "Damn, Sam, it usually takes me five hours and half a bottle of whiskey to get this far," the baker commented. 

"It's not that hard." Sam, as usual, used a self-deprecating tone. "Once you know what the program actually wants you to do." He paused, and then added, "If you leave me your laptop, I can make you a spreadsheet with all of this, and I can label it so you know exactly what to put in each box in the program. As a thank-you for what you've done for me the past few days, and a little Christmas present," he added. "Not like I can go out shopping for you." Even if he had the cash. 

Gabriel whistled. "You're selling yourself short, Sam. You figured out both the software _and_ our system for keeping track of everything in minutes. You're one sharp cookie. I'd _love_ a spreadsheet like that, and I know Hannah would too--it would make our lives so much easier."

"Perfect!" Sam said, beaming at him. "I'll make it tomorrow while you're at work. It'll give me something to focus on besides the TV. And...let's see, we just have to put these figures in here, and...presto! We're all done!" He hit enter and turned the laptop so Gabriel could see the output. 

"Holy shit! This calls for a celebration," Gabriel said. He pushed Max off his lap, and then got up and caused a flurry of papers to fall to the floor. "I'll make my 'special' apple cider for you," he said, winking and taking the laptop so he could set it back on the table. 

"How much alcohol is in this 'special' apple cider?" Sam laughed, bending down to pick the papers up.

"How much do you think?" Gabriel grinned back. "You do drink alcohol, right?"

"Some, yeah," Sam said. "Usually just beer, though." 

"Eh, brandy isn't that much worse than beer," Gabriel replied. "The vodka, though..." They both laughed, as Sam cleaned up the papers and set them down on the coffee table, next to the little nativity scene. Once he'd straightened up, Max climbed in his lap and curled up, completely comfortable with Sam now. 

"You're not trying to get me drunk, are you? Because I'll warn you, I've got a pretty high tolerance." 

Gabriel snorted. "I figured, what with you being a giant moose and all."

"I'm not a moose!" Sam protested. 

"Yes you are. Just give you antlers and stick you in Canada. Voila, moose," Gabriel said, throwing his arms wide as if they could both see the picture in his mind. 

"Well, if I'm a moose, then you're a, a--" Sam's mind went completely blank of all animals at that moment, of course. Except for the one on his lap. "A--Puppy," was all he could come up with.

Gabriel threw back his head and laughed so hard he had to wipe his eyes when he was done. "Oh my god, Sam, that was lame. I thought you said you had an older brother. I expected a better insult game."

Sam shook his head, unable to keep his lips from quirking upwards. "We just call each other bitch and jerk. It's a thing."

"It's a stupid thing," Gabriel retorted as he got to work at the stove. "And everyone knows that I am the special snowflake that is a platypus," he added, setting a dramatic hand to his chest.

It was Sam's turn to snort. "A platypus?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"Yes. Rare, special, and all kinds of fucked up but mostly in a cute way," Gabriel explained. 

Sam blinked. "I--I don't think I can argue with that." 

"Of course you can't," Gabriel said, chuckling as he stirred liquid in a saucepan. "Now, let's see...where _did_ I put those cinnamon sticks...?"


	16. Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It took me a little while to figure out how to tie today's portion of the story to the prompt; I even went so far as to ask for help on the Rich Fic Appreciation server. But, just as I typed it out and hit return...this came to me. I'm...sorry?

Sam was limping back from the bathroom when he heard the doorknob to the apartment rattle. Startled, he stopped where he was and stared at the door; it was much too early for Gabriel to be home. Max went insane barking. Sam couldn't believe it--was he really standing in someone else's apartment when it was about to be robbed? 

A large man came through the doorway, carrying some shopping bags, only to come to an abrupt halt upon seeing Sam standing in the hallway. "Who are you?" they both asked at the same time, though in very different tones--Sam's was almost fearful, while the other man sounded...well, like he was using a pick-up line, actually. He gave Sam a frank once-over and raised his eyebrows. He must've spotted the ace bandage on Sam's ankle, because he relaxed slightly. "Ahhh--you're the stray he picked up," he said with a French accent. "Down, Max! You know me!" he added, though in a fond tone. "Blasted dog." Max was now wagging his tail furiously as he smelled the 'stranger.'

Sam, being suave and debonair and all of that, pointed at the other man and blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You're the serial killer guy!" 

Perhaps not surprisingly, this sent the new arrival into peals of merry laughter. When he recovered a little, he set a hand to his chest and said, "Oui. C'est moi. The serial killer _and_ cousin known as Balthazar." He set the shopping bags down and put a key away in his pocket before stepping forward to shake Sam's hand. "I don't think we were properly introduced on the phone." 

"I'm Sam Winchester," Sam said with a beet-red face, returning the handshake. "Um, yeah, I twisted my ankle and Gabe said I could stay here for a few days..." It sounded so lame when he said it aloud. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, he didn't say anything about you coming over." 

"He wouldn't have," Balthazar replied with an easy shrug, hanging his coat up and taking off his shoes. "We have a bit of a holiday tradition; started when we were boys. We go into each other's dwellings and leave each other presents...and, usually, perform a prank, although I admit your presence _does_ complicate matters." He pulled a medium-sized wrapped package from one of the shopping bags and walked over to the Christmas tree, depositing it underneath. Max ran over to smell every inch of it. 

"What were you going to do?" Sam was certainly no stranger to prank wars, and he was honestly curious.

Balthazar walked back over to his shopping bags and pulled out another box, before tossing it underhand to Sam. 'FUNNY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS,' the box read. Sam initially thought that they were wired to go on the fritz as if they'd burned out, but then he looked closer at the box, and he felt his face heat up. They might do that as well--but their main claim to fame was clearly the shape of each bulb, which, upon closer inspection, looked like male genitalia. He let out an embarrassed chuckle. 

"Perfect, right?" Balthazar was pulling out several additional boxes, but also got his wallet out of his pocket. "Now, if I switch these out...how much do you want to keep silent about them?"

"I--I don't want any money," Sam said, shaking his head and waving a hand as he set the box down and then limped back to the couch and sat. "I won't tell him anything but that you stopped by and left the present. Getting to see his face when he realizes you replaced them with these will be plenty--if he even notices them before I leave."

Balthazar raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips, eyeing Sam oddly as he reached up and began to take the existing lights down. "Well, well, well. You seem to be nicer than his usual type." 

"What, they'd demand a bribe to keep quiet about a prank?" Sam recalled that Gabriel had mentioned having poor taste, but that was all he'd said about his exes. 

"That, _and_ they'd've probably hit on me already," Balthazar replied. "I love my little cousin dearly, but he has truly terrible taste in men. Each one was worse than the one before, and the last one..." he shuddered. "Ass-modeus was a _real_ piece of work."

"That's too bad," Sam said, shaking his head as he watched Balthazar replace Gabriel's Christmas lights with the penis-shaped lights. "I haven't known him long, but Gabe seems like a really nice guy." 

"He is. Too nice, sometimes," Balthazar said. "He lets people walk all over him. First his brothers, then his father, and lately these boyfriends..." He shook his head. "Not enough self-esteem." He glanced over his shoulder. "Are you staying here through Christmas?"

"Ah--no, I wasn't planning on it," Sam said. "My ankle's starting to feel better, so the stairs in my dorm room won't be as much of a problem for me any more--and I don't want to intrude on Gabe any more than I already have." 

Balthazar grinned at him. "Do me a favor, since you won't take bribes? I usually spend at least some time with him on Christmas, but this year we're going out of state. My siblings too; you've probably already met Hannah. Stay with him? So he doesn't have to spend Christmas Day alone? If you need me to help you get him a present or something, I can certainly do that before I leave."

"Oh, I already got him something." Sam briefly explained the spreadsheet he'd made Gabriel the day before. "Not that it's much, but--" he spread his hands apart. "It was something I could do for him." He hesitated, then asked, "You really think he wouldn't mind? Spending Christmas Day with someone he barely knows? I'm not _that_ great of a conversationalist, as you've probably already noticed." 

Balthazar gave Sam a dazzling smile as he explained the spreadsheet, clearly approving of his choice of presents. "I'm sure that will be a huge help. He usually calls me and bitches for hours every time it's his turn to do the books." As to Sam's question, he just shrugged. "He seems to be enjoying your company so far. And he really will be all alone this Christmas otherwise. Since it sounds like you will too--why not stay with him?"

Sam shrugged; it was a good argument. "I suppose that makes sense, but I don't want him to feel like he has to cook a big meal or anything just because I'm here." 

His comment made Balthazar snort. "Have you _met_ him? He _loves_ to cook. And bake. He'd do it all for himself if you weren't here and end up eating leftovers for weeks." 

"Yeah, but I can't pay him back for the groceries or anything," Sam pointed out. 

Balthazar shoved the last 'real' lights back into the last 'funny light' box, which he put back into his shopping bag. "If that spreadsheet of yours does what you say, it'll more than pay him back in terms of time and frustration," he noted. "Besides, he's not loaded or anything, but he's comfortable. He won't go broke because he makes Christmas dinner for you. So do me a favor and stay," he said, looking up and winking. 

Sam couldn't help but smile. "A second favor--not telling him about the lights counts as one too."

"Fine, fine," Balthazar laughed. "I'll owe you two favors if you stay with him at least until the 26th. Deal?" He held his hand out to shake. 

Sam accepted it. "Deal," he agreed. "Nice to meet you in person." 

"Vous aussi," Balthazar replied. "Take care of my little cousin."

"I'll try," Sam said as Balthazar let himself out of the apartment. Max sniffed at the tree, then the present again, then came over and jumped up so he could curl up in Sam's lap. Sam pulled him close; he knew he was going to miss both Gabe AND Max after the 26th.


	17. Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we meet Asmodeus (sorry...) and Sam manages to hit _himself_ with a clue-by-four.
> 
> Still a continuation of 'Icy.'

When Gabriel got home, Sam told him the truth--that Balthazar had said that there was no point pulling a prank since Sam would just tell Gabriel about whatever it was. Sam wasn't a very good liar, but he thought his poker face was pretty good this time, especially since Gabriel looked smug at having accidentally 'foiled' Balthazar's yearly prank. Gabriel didn't seem to notice the lights, and Sam wondered if he even would before he went to take them down. 

Gabriel went into paroxysms of delight when he finally had time to sit down and look through the spreadsheet that Sam had created. He declared it the best Christmas present he'd ever gotten and called up Hannah to tell her all about how much time it would save them. Sam was genuinely happy that he'd been able to pay Gabriel back at least a little for taking care of him for the past week. 

Gabriel also seemed overjoyed when Sam agreed to stay for Christmas proper, and made Sam feel a little guilty by going out and buying several bags' worth of groceries so that they could 'do the holiday right.' He felt a little better when Gabriel let him help cook. Although Sam was a self-declared water burner, he was able to sit at the kitchen table and do simple things, like peel potatoes. "No, Max," he told the dog, who was sitting by him begging. "You wouldn't like potato peelings." 

"Says you," Gabriel retorted from the stove, where he was preparing the stuffing--completely from scratch using bread from the bakery, of course. "He doesn't know that." He accidentally-on-purpose dropped some bread, which Max happily ran over and ate. "He'll get some turkey, too, when it's done."

"He's spoiled," Sam laughed, shaking his head at both dog and owner. "You know table scraps aren't good for him, right?"

"I know. He only gets them on holidays," Gabriel said with a straight face. When Sam opened his mouth to protest, he added, "And with every day being the National Day of Something, every day's a holiday!" He shrugged. "Don't worry, Sam-a-lam, I watch his weight." 

Before Sam could open his mouth to explain that there were issues with feeding dogs table scraps besides excess weight, there was a knock at the door, which startled both of them. Gabriel blinked at the door for a moment or two before calling, "Just a second!" He shrugged at Sam, washed and dried his hands, and then moved to open the door. 

"Hello, Gabriel." Sam couldn't see the man because the front door of the apartment opened in his direction, but he could hear him just fine. 

"Az." Gabriel sounded puzzled...and was that just a touch of hurt in his voice? Sam frowned. "What--why are you here?"

"My boyfriend had to go spend Christmas with his parents and pretend to be straight. I saw your cousins were going to be gone, and I know you always cook _way_ too much food, so I thought I'd invite myself over. I know how hurt you were when we broke up, so I thought I'd bring over a little wine and maybe see if I could soothe some of your ruffled feathers." His tone went low and seductive, and Sam found himself standing up and moving without him consciously realizing it. Somehow, his brain had put two and two together, come up with a plan, and sent him into motion without checking in with him first. 

"Az, I'm not going to help you cheat on--" Gabriel started, but then Sam rounded the edge of the door.

The man that stood in the doorway was tall, older than Gabriel, with salt and pepper hair and a full beard. Sam supposed he was attractive, but the look on his face wasn't. He was holding a cheap bottle of wine with Christmas trees plastered all over it. Sam felt himself grin, hard enough that his face hurt a little. "Hi! Sorry I didn't come right away, but, I had a little accident," he gestured at his foot, and then stuck his hand in between Gabriel and Az, forcing the older man to shake it so he couldn't grab hold of Gabriel with the hand that wasn't holding the bottle. "I'm Sam Winchester," he said, squeezing the other man's hand much harder than he needed to. 

Sam then drew his arm back, placed it around Gabriel, and drew the honey-eyed man tight against his side. "I'm Gabriel's boyfriend," he said, still grinning. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the utter look of shock on Gabriel's face, and knew he had to do something before Asmodeus realized that he was lying. "Give me some sugar, Sugar," he'd beat himself up over THAT line later. For now, he half-turned his back to Asmodeus and leaned down to give Gabriel a quick peck on the lips to hide the shocked look on his face. Thankfully, Gabriel was quick on the uptake, and smiled gratefully but quickly at him before adopting an innocent expression. 

"Oh, you," he said, playfully shoving Sam back. "This is our first Christmas together," he said, turning back to the tall man, who looked as if he'd bit into a lemon. "Oh, where are my manners? Sam, this is Asmodeus, one of my ex-boyfriends. Asmodeus, my new boyfriend, Sam." 

Since they'd already shaken hands, Asmodeus just nodded before putting a sickly smile on his face. "Nice to meet you...Sam," he said. 

Sam just kept beaming at him, hoping to make the other man uncomfortable, and felt triumphant when Asmodeus shifted his weight. "Ah...well, I suppose I shouldn't take up any more of your time, then," he said, pushing the bottle he was holding at Gabriel. "Merry Christmas, Gabe." 

"Thanks--here, let me pack you some cookies to go," Gabriel said, accepting the bottle of wine and ducking under Sam's arm to head back toward the kitchen. "It'll just take me a moment." he called. 

"Ah...so...how long have you two been together?" Asmodeus asked Sam when Gabriel disappeared. 

"Just a few days, actually," Sam replied casually. "Believe it or not, I tripped and fell in front of his bakery and he was nice enough to help me get home."

Asmodeus stared at him, then seemed to switch tactics, looking Sam up and down and then leering openly at him. "I don't suppose you two would be...up...for a Christmas threesome?"

Sam nearly gagged, but managed to stop himself at the last minute. "No, thanks, I'm monogamous," he said. "Besides, Gabriel left me _very_ satisfied this morning." He heard a choking sound from the kitchen, and tried to ignore it. "I just can't believe _anyone_ would _ever_ break up with him, but I have to say, I'm _really_ glad you did." 

Gabriel came out with a suspiciously straight face and a plastic container filled with cookies. "Here you go. I put all your favorites in. Merry Christmas, Az, thanks for coming over!" He shoved the box into Asmodeus' hands and then gave him a little wave. 

"Merry Christmas. Ah...nice to see you both. Good-bye, Sam. Gabriel." Asmodeus had no choice but to return the wave and turn away from the door toward the elevator. 

Gabriel watched him until he pushed the elevator button and then closed the door. He immediately turned away from Sam, who suddenly felt bad--what if he'd misread the entire situation? What if Gabriel had wanted Asmodeus to stick around? After all, Gabriel had obviously liked him enough to date him. Sam had been _way_ out of line, accepting Balthazar's opinions of the man without verifying them first. 

Gabriel's shoulders started to shake as if he were crying, and Sam nearly broke down on the spot. "Gabe--Gabriel, shit, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what got into me, I just heard the way he was talking to you and I--" what _had_ he been thinking?

"Stop, Sam." Gabriel let out an explosive breath and turned around. There were no tears in his eyes, though his face was very, very red. As he took in a breath and then burst out laughing, Sam realized he'd turned away so as not to make eye contact to avoid laughing aloud while Asmodeus could still hear them. Sam let out a sigh of relief, and then, when it didn't seem like Gabriel was going to stop laughing any time soon, began to chuckle along with him. 

They laughed until Gabriel had to dart into the kitchen to stop a pot of water from boiling over. It seemed to sober him up enough that he was able to get his voice back. "I--my only regret is that I couldn't see his face when you told him how well I satisfied you," he gasped, and then began laughing again. 

"It was definitely a picture," Sam admitted, grinning. "I'm just glad you're not mad at me." 

Gabriel shook his head and gasped in some more air. "No--no, I'm not. I knew he was a terrible idea even back when I was dating him. Now sit down; get off of that ankle," he said, pointing to the kitchen chair. "And here I thought you'd already gotten me the best Christmas present ever," he added, shaking his head. He grinned brightly at Sam as he took a seat and picked up the potato peeler once more. "But how did you know what an ass he was?"

"Balthazar told me," Sam replied with a shrug. "And then he just...he was trying to get back together with you even though he has a boyfriend? That's pure sleaze." 

Gabriel picked up the bottle of wine he'd been given and waved it slightly. "So is this. Seriously, he wants in my pants and he brings a single bottle of cheap-ass wine?" It made them both laugh again. "No, Sam, thank you. I don't think he would have left so easily if you hadn't been here."

"You're welcome," Sam said, and then his brain continued to operate without checking in with him first. "Any time you need a fake boyfriend, just let me know." Shit, had he just said that? From the startled look on Gabriel's face, he had. 

Gabriel overcame the shock quickly, and smiled at him, though there was something fragile about it. "I'll keep that in mind. Now, where were we..." he asked, turning back to the stove and his many pots and pans. 

Sam stared at Gabriel's back and mentally banged his head down onto the table. _Stupid, stupid, stupid..._ He cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. Anything to say. Anything that wasn't stupid. So much for his good mood.

After a few moments, he gave up and tossed a bit of potato peel at Max, who snapped it up...at which point Sam realized he was doing a fairly good impression of his brother on one of Dean's dumber days. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Gabe. I said that without thinking." 

"Nothing to be sorry for, Sam," Gabriel waved a hand from his position in front of the stove, obviously wanting to drop the matter. 

"No, Gabe. You've been honest with me, and while I've been mostly honest with you..." Sam was so glad Gabriel wasn't actually facing him so that he could find the courage to blurt out, "I've only ever done anything with gir...with women. But I think I'm also attracted to guys. But I don't know, and I don't want to, like, make you think I'm gay and then find out that I'm not really attracted to guys that way." He ended up staring down at the potato he was peeling, feeling about two inches tall. 

He felt worse when he heard Gabriel step away from the stove and walk up to him. He blinked in surprise when Gabriel set a finger under his chin and lifted it up so that they were looking into each other's eyes. "I wasn't going to do this until I dropped you off," he said quietly, almost to himself. "But if it helps you figure things out and stop overthinking everything...well, why wait?" He bent down slowly, giving Sam plenty of time to pull away. "And yes, if you don't like it, we can just be friends. That's fine." Then he pressed his lips to Sam's. 

Sam's brain nearly short-circuited, but some part of him held still and let Gabriel kiss him. As he was comparing and contrasting the feeling with kissing a woman, a different part of his anatomy turned down the volume of his thoughts and made him _feel_. And what he felt, especially when Gabriel began to move those lips of his, was fireworks. When Gabriel started to pull away, Sam reached up and pulled him back down, tentatively parting his lips. Gabriel took full advantage, and Sam quickly found out just how talented the other man was with his tongue. 

When they finally had to pull apart for air, Sam realized he must look wrecked--his face was flushed, he was breathing hard, and, well, it was a good thing he was still seated. "Wow," he breathed. 

Gabriel threw his head back and laughed. "I don't think I've ever gotten a 'wow' before." He looked over Sam, a mischievous grin on his face. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but I'm pretty sure you're not completely straight." 

Sam stared up at him, and then smiled. "We should make absolutely sure, though," he said, gently pulling Gabriel down for another kiss. 

"I don't know about you, but _I'm_ pretty sure," Gabriel said when they broke apart. He set his hands on Sam's shoulders, then pushed himself up so he was fully standing again. "Unfortunately, while I'd love to hear your counterargument, if I don't get this turkey in the oven, we're not eating today." 

Sam laughed, and--reluctantly!--let go of Gabriel. "I guess I am hungry," he admitted, picking the potato peeler back up. "But I do want to explore my sexuality further at some point." 

"It would be my pleasure," Gabriel replied with a wink.


	18. Cookies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still continuing the story!

Gabriel kept giving Sam odd little glances as they prepared the meal; finally, Sam shook his head at the other man. "What?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Most guys have at least a minor freak out, the first time they're certain they're not completely straight. Just--keeping an eye on you."

Sam's return smile was wry. "It's not as if I haven't suspected for a while," he pointed out. "And I'm not in contact with my family," though there was a pang as he thought of Dean, "so I don't have to worry about what they're going to think. And, well, anyone who wants to pick on me because I'm not straight is going to think twice when I stand up and look down at them." 

Gabriel chuckled. "True." He shook his head. "Never thought I'd live to see the day when people didn't look on being queer as at least a little world-ending." 

"Society's come a long ways in the past few years. There's still a long ways to go, but...most younger people, at least, don't see why anyone should care. You kind of failed to destroy the world by coming out into the open like people were claiming in the 80's," Sam pointed out. 

"Shit!" Gabriel's eyes went wide, and Sam looked up, questioning. He then grinned at Sam. "I knew I forgot to do something." They laughed, and that was the end of that conversation. 

Dinner was...amazing. Gabriel kept pressing more and more food on Sam, and it was all delicious, so he completely overate. Gabriel copied him, and it wasn't long before the two were laid out in the living room, Gabriel in his recliner and Sam on the couch, groaning about how much food they'd eaten. Max was also full from scraps, and was laying upside-down in Gabriel's lap, snoring cutely. 

"Oh no," Gabriel said at one point. 

"What?" Sam asked. 

"I completely forgot about the cookies. They're still over on the side-board." 

Sam shook his head. "I can't eat another bite, honestly, Gabriel." 

"Me either," Gabriel admitted, staring up at the wall. "Breakfast."

Sam snorted. "Cookies are not an acceptable breakfast food, Gabriel."

"Watch me." Gabriel was silent for a little while, absently petting Max, and then, out of the corner of his eye, Sam saw him furrow his brow. He peered up for a few moments more, before drawling, "Saaaaaam?"

"Yeah?" Sam wondered what it was this time. 

"Why do all my Christmas lights look like little penises?"

Sam laughed so hard he almost fell off the couch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here you thought I'd forgotten about the lights XD. Admittedly, I did forget all about Max in the last installment, whose behavior was supposed to clue Sam in about Asmodeus' character, but...oh well.


	19. Happy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still continuing 'Icy.' Though, I may press pause here--it depends on what I come up with for tomorrow's prompt. Regardless, there *will* be at least one more timestamp in this universe in these drabbles...at least partly because I think some of you would hunt me down and kill me if I just left it here...

They spent the next few hours discussing what proper payback would look like, and came up with a solid New Year's prank to play on Balthazar while they watched Good Omens on Gabriel's TV. Sam hadn't seen it on a big screen before, and was delighted by all the things he'd missed--such as the ad for the lost hat and the fact that Ligur's eyes changed color with his chameleon. Gabriel loved seeing the happy look on Sam's face, and soon realized that he was every bit as gone on Sam as Aziraphale was on Crowley--he was paying more attention to Sam's reactions than to David Tennant's ass in those pants.

Eventually, however, he climbed to his feet with a groan, and went to start cleaning up. Sam paused the show, got up, and followed him. "Sam!" Gabriel protested. "Stay! I don't need help!"

"My ankle's fine," Sam replied, shaking his head. "A couple more days and I'll be at least jogging again. So, please, let me help."

Gabriel frowned at him, but his apartment had a dishwasher, so it wasn't as if cleanup was _too_ onerous. Besides, it was nice to have Sam in the kitchen, in what he considered to be _his_ space. They worked well together, rinsing off dishes and stacking them in the dishwasher, almost as if they'd been sharing the apartment for ages instead of less than a week. 

_Okay, Gabriel,_ he told himself. Now or never. "Hey, Sam, do you have any plans for New Year's?" Oh god. The dimpled smile he got in response to his question made even his overly-full stomach do a flip. 

"No, I don't." 

"Would you like to go to Balthazar's party with me?" He'd mentioned the likely-to-be-epic New Year's celebration earlier, in connection with the prank, but had been too chickenshit to ask Sam then. 

"As a date?" Thank God, Sam was still smiling as he asked the question. Gabriel couldn't help it; he grinned back. 

"Yeah," Gabriel confirmed. After all, he was fairly sure what Sam was going to say in response thanks to those dimples. "I mean, normally I'd ask you out for dinner and a movie before something big like New Year's, but it's next week." 

"Sure, I'll go with you," Sam said, and Gabriel's heart soared. He gathered his courage, and reached out to take Sam's hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss his knuckles. 

"I'd really like to kiss you again," he blurted out, though somehow he was still surprised when Sam leaned down and pressed their lips together. He proceeded to use every trick he knew to keep the younger man interested, and was surprised to find Sam kissing him back with what seemed like equal ardor. Could Sam really like him that much? He'd figured he was just a low-stakes way for Sam to experiment; that he'd go out with him a few times and then decide they were better off as friends. But from the way Sam was kissing him...

He slid his arms around Sam and then allowed his hands to wander up and down the most muscular back he'd ever encountered. And big. So big. Speaking of big, Sam had his hands on him--one on the back of his head in his hair, and another one setting gently just above his hip. He desperately wanted to feel them all over his body and he desperately wanted to put his all over Sam's...but he knew it was too early for that. He didn't want to push Sam too far, too fast, and send the kid into a panic attack. 

Speaking of which...he reluctantly separated his lips from Sam's, and looked up at him. "Promise me something?" he asked. 

Sam looked confused for a moment--probably a lack of blood flowing to his actual brain. "Hmm?" 

"Promise me that if I do anything you don't like or you just plain aren't ready for, you'll tell me right away," Gabriel said, reluctantly removing his hands from Sam's back and reaching up to cup his face instead. 

Sam smiled as he finally got what Gabriel was asking for, and nodded. "Okay," he said. 

"This is fine, though? Making out, hands above the belt?" Gabriel quirked an eyebrow up at him. 

"This is great, Gabe." Sam leaned down to press a quick kiss to his lips. "But my ankle's starting to vote that we relocate to the couch if we're going to continue." 

"Couch it is. Come on," Gabriel said, taking one of Sam's hands and interlacing their fingers before pulling him toward the living room. He'd definitely never had a happier Christmas.


	20. Sunset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, since I was THREATENED...with PITCHFORKS...have a continuation ;). Once again, it's not the best use of the prompt, but since no one seems to care I'll try not to too XD.

Sam shifted in his seat as he watched the sun set. Gabriel was driving them to the New Year's party, and Sam was already regretting wearing pants quite _this_ tight, even if it was in character. Thankfully, he hadn't put on his sunglasses yet, so he could still see the pretty purples and pinks of the sky. 

Gabriel parked near a house in the nice part of town. Sam recognized it, as they'd 'broken' in to it before Balthazar and his significant others had gotten back from their trip and, well...redecorated. He was idly curious as to whether or not their efforts would still be visible. He waited for Gabriel to use the rear-view mirror to straighten his wig and bow tie after he slipped on his sunglasses, and then got out of the car and started picking up containers of food from the backseat--Gabriel was effectively catering the party, so there was a lot that needed to be carried in. 

Gabriel, of course, promptly started snickering at him and his load of food. "Pack moose!" he announced, pointing at him. Sam rolled his eyes as Gabriel filled his own arms and they carried the food to the house. 

"Ah. Our...interior decorators," Balthazar greeted them at the door, holding it wide so they could enter. 

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gabriel said in his most innocent tone as they walked over a psychedelic rug--one of several they'd replaced area rugs in the house with. 

"You know, I didn't think you would find those lights until you took them down," Balthazar said, giving Sam a suspicious look as he helped them set out the food they were carrying. 

"Sam didn't say a word; I found them on my own, fair and square," Gabriel informed him. 

"He did," Sam agreed. "He didn't think you'd pranked him at all until then." 

"Hmm," Balthazar replied, but he was grinning. "We kept the rugs for the party, but the Crayola stick drawings you left in place of our art pieces...well, we've put the art back up." 

"I don't know how you told the difference," Gabriel retorted. "Honestly, some of Sam's were better than what they replaced." Balthazar proceeded to grab Gabriel and give him a noogie, and the two wrestled playfully for a few moments before one of Balthazar's significant others that Sam didn't know stepped in. 

"Knock it off, you two, or you'll spill the booze, and no one wants to deal with either of you without booze," the brunette told them, shaking her head. They reluctantly parted, and Gabriel went back to setting up the food table after straightening his wig. 

"I'll introduce you to everyone once we're done," Gabriel told Sam. "It's still just family, I think. That's Anna and her husband John over in the corner, and...oh no." His eyes had fallen on the most awkward man Sam had ever seen. He was standing all by himself, wearing a suit and a trench coat and holding a glass full of what looked like water. 

"Is he...dressed as John Constantine?" Sam asked, keeping his voice low. 

Gabriel shook his head. "No, that's...just what he wears. Every day. That's my cousin, Castiel, the oldest. He's...well, he's probably somewhere on the autistic spectrum, to put it nicely. I'm surprised he came at all; he usually doesn't go to parties." 

"But...he does know it's a costume party, right?" And then Sam had a sudden suspicion, his eyes narrowing at Gabriel before widening and looking around. "It _is_ a costume party...right?" He groaned--no one but them appeared to be in costume. 

"It is for us. And, anyway, you look _lickable_ in that outfit. Who knew red hair suited you so well, Sam?" Before Sam could protest further, Gabriel pointed toward the door. "Just a few more things left for me to get, no need for you to come along too!" He beat a hasty retreat, and Sam sighed. 

Balthazar wandered over, grinning at him. "Told you it was a costume party, eh, Sam?" 

"At least he's wearing one too," Sam confirmed. 

"If it's any consolation, he doesn't look half as good in his as you do in yours," Balthazar said, handing him a beer and idly looking him up and down. "White really isn't his color. Anyway, let me introduce you to everyone."


	21. Photographs

Gabriel avoided Sam for a bit, so he ended up speaking with Castiel. No one else seemed to want to spend time with Gabriel's oldest cousin, and Sam could sort of see why--Castiel's picture was probably on the Wikipedia page for 'socially awkward.' However, Sam actually liked Castiel's dry wit, and he'd gotten a couple of funny stories about Balthazar out of him before Gabriel showed up again, food apparently taken care of. 

"Hey, Angel." Sam was determined to call him that all night thanks to the costumes. "I was just talking with your cousin about Balthazar's attempt to give himself a mohawk."

Gabriel laughed, but slipped a possessive arm around Sam. "I remember that. Wasn't it just before school pictures, too?"

"Yes, but the photographer wouldn't take any pictures of him," Castiel agreed. 

"Meanwhile, Cassie here refused to take off his headgear for any of the school photos, so we have some excellent shots of teenage Brace Face," Gabriel said. 

"It is an accurate record of what I looked like at the time," Castiel replied with a shrug, unfazed. Sam briefly wondered how he would react--or not react, as the case may be--if a bomb went off nearby. 

"I'm sure you look like an angel in _all_ of your school pictures," Sam teased Gabriel gently. 

"Damn straight I do," he retorted. "I knew better than to get caught on camera." Sam laughed, while Castiel just looked politely confused. 

"Speaking of getting caught...I can't help but notice that we're the only ones here in costume," Sam pointed out, raising an eyebrow. 

"You're in costume?" Castiel tilted his head to the side, turning Gabriel's initial chuckle into more of a cackle. 

"We're supposed to be two characters from a popular miniseries by Neil Gaiman," Sam explained. "Excuse us a moment," he added, grabbing Gabriel by the bicep and steering him away from his cousin. 

Gabriel immediately looked repentant. "I'm sorry, Sam, but if you had any idea how hot you look in those pants... Anyway, some of our friends always come in costume. We won't be the only ones, I swear." 

"We'd better not be," Sam replied. "But even if we are, it's all right. I've figured out a way to get even." 

Gabriel looked up at him, seemingly a little worried. "...How?" he asked. 

Sam leaned down so he could speak directly into Gabriel's ear without anyone overhearing them. "By telling you, now, why I'm only on my first beer. See, I'm pacing myself, because when that ball drops, I want you to take me home so we can undertake...further explorations. And I don't want you thinking I'm too drunk to consent." 

Sam watched as Gabriel's eyes widened and his cheeks flushed. Seeing the reaction Gabriel had to his words went to his head faster than the beer. "But--" Gabriel frowned slightly, apparently trying to understand Sam's game. "How is _that_ payback?"

"Because now you have to wait," Sam growled in his ear. "Until the party's over. Which is hours from now." 

"Shit." Gabriel looked like a deer in headlights and shifted his stance, clearly and suddenly uncomfortable even though his pants weren't that tight. "Well played, Sam, well played." 

Hannah's arrival broke up their conversation. "Hi, you two! Oh my gosh, you look amazing! I have to get a photograph with you!" she exclaimed, pulling out her phone and darting in between them.

She wasn't the only one who demanded to take a selfie with them that evening; most of the party goers wanted a picture with Sam and his Angel. And, as Gabriel had promised, some of their other friends did arrive in costume, so they were ultimately joined by a Pepper, a Pestilence, and a Beelzebub who were all thrilled to meet fellow Good Omens lovers. Not one asked why Gabriel wasn't dressed as Jon Hamm's character. 

As Sam had promised, he took care not to drink _too_ much. If anything, it made their midnight kiss even more electric, as Sam leaned down and Gabriel stood on his tip-toes to make sure it was as deep as possible. Before they'd completely finished kissing, Gabriel had reached into the crowd and produced Castiel, who was still alone...and still, apparently, drinking water. Gabriel didn't take his eyes off of Sam. "Remember that favor you owe me, Cassie?"

"Yeah?" came the gravelly voice. 

"Drive the two of us back to my place, _right now,_ and we're even." 

"But why--"

"Without asking questions." 

Castiel shrugged. "Okay." He then began making his way toward the door. Sam and Gabriel followed, arms around one another.


	22. Candles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Smut ahoy! Sorry for the delay. I don't know what got into me yesterday.

They made out on the elevator heading up to Gabriel's apartment, but were forced to stop by Max's enthusiastic greeting of both of them when they arrived at the apartment. "Would you...take him on a quick walk?" Gabriel asked Sam, almost shyly. "I'd like to hide the dirty clothes in my bedroom." 

Sam laughed, and nodded. "Sure, no problem, though...you've seen my dorm room."

"Which was immaculate," Gabriel shot back as he handed over Max's leash and a bag. "Be good for him, Max." 

Sam leaned down to give Gabriel a quick kiss. "We'll be right back." Max whined when they left Gabriel behind, but soon got over the separation in favor of going for a walk. Sam didn't take him too far; just far enough that the bag got filled and Max would hopefully be content until morning. Gabriel buzzed them into the building when they returned, and he took the leash off of Max when they got back to the apartment. Max went running into the bedroom, as that was apparently where Gabriel was. Sam locked the door behind him and took off his shoes, socks, and coat, then followed the dog. 

To Sam's surprise, Gabriel had lit candles in his bedroom, and put on jazz music, of all things. Max was completely spoiling the mood by running circles on the bed and having a wiggle fit, and Gabriel was trying to convince the dog to 'get down.' Max clearly thought that 'keep away from the owner' was a great game. Sam leaned against the door frame and chuckled at their antics. 

"You laugh now," Gabriel warned, "But let me tell you, a cold nose in an unexpected place is the fastest way to kill the mood that I know of." Sam eventually took pity on him, and, with his longer arms, snatched up Max and escorted the dog out of the bedroom before shutting the door behind him. "Thanks," Gabriel said, looking a bit embarrassed, of all things. 

"You're welcome," Sam replied, closing the distance between them and putting his arms around Gabriel before leaning down to kiss him. The kiss turned heavy almost instantaneously, and Sam let his hands start wandering along Gabriel's back. The older man had surprising muscle definition, and Sam wondered if he worked out. 

Gabriel pulled away, but he was breathing heavily as he looked up at the college student. "Sam. If you want me to stop, for _any_ reason, just say it and I will." 

"Okay," Sam agreed, removing Gabriel's wig and tossing it on top of a dresser. The view he got of Gabriel's real hair in the candlelight was very much worth it; the light brought out golden highlights in his hair that matched his eyes. 

Gabriel chuckled, and then pulled Sam's fake red hair off as well. "Much better," he said, running his fingers through Sam's mane of hair. "Easier to get a grip on." He winked, and Sam laughed in return. He did like a bit of hair-pulling, but he wasn't about to tell Gabriel that their first time together. Besides, he'd likely figure it out. Gabriel grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. "Top or bottom?" he asked before claiming Sam's lips. 

Sam was glad he had the space of a kiss to think about it, because--although it was something he should have thought about already--he hadn't. He'd fantasized about being with Gabriel, but not quite in that amount of detail. "Uhhhh-" he said intelligently when Gabriel finally broke the kiss. 

Gabriel just shook his head and smiled. "You top. Easier your first time." 

Sam nodded. "Okay," he agreed, fingers going to work on removing Gabriel's clothes as he leaned down far enough to kiss the other man's neck. "Condoms?"

"On the nightstand. With the lube," Gabriel waved a hand in that direction as he began to work on the buttons of Sam's shirt--what few were actually fastened. Sam felt his hands begin to explore his chest, and he had a pang of jealousy--Gabriel still had on a few layers, thanks to his costume, so Sam couldn't reach his skin. It didn't help that his erection had absolutely nowhere to go in the skin-tight pants he was wearing. 

Sam stepped backwards, intent on getting his pants off even as Gabriel was trying to work his shirt off over his shoulders. The result was that Sam managed to get the pants down only an inch or two before he overbalanced and fell onto the floor, where a combination of his shirt and pants served to hog-tie him in an awkward position that made him glad he did yoga. 

Gabriel burst out laughing, while Sam threw him a bitchface over his shoulder. "Little help here?" Gabriel kept laughing, but he helped Sam get the shirt the rest of the way off. The pants, however, took both of them to peel off--Sam pushing from the top and Gabriel pulling from the bottom. Sam swore, but they were both laughing by the time the offending material was off, revealing Sam's miles of legs. "I'm never wearing those again," he declared as he climbed back to his feet in his boxer-briefs and tossed the pants aside. 

"Not even if I ask nicely?" Gabriel fluttered his eyelashes, and then ogled Sam while he helped him get him out of his own clothes. 

"Not even then," Sam confirmed, straightening up to look at the skin he was revealing. "God, you're gorgeous," he murmured without thinking. He couldn't help it; with the candlelight reflecting off of Gabriel's skin, the man looked downright edible. 

Gabriel actually blushed--blushed!--as he looked up at Sam. "Right back at you," he retorted, with feeling. "Bed," he added, and Sam followed him into it, where they both took advantage of the sudden lack of a height difference to kiss each other breathless. Gabriel's hands wandered below the belt first, but Sam's followed his soon after. "God, Sam, that ass," Gabriel groaned as he squeezed it. 

Sam didn't know what he was talking about; you could, as Dean would say, bounce a quarter off of Gabriel's ass. Moreover, he could now feel Gabriel's erection against his stomach, and he was suddenly glad he'd agreed to top--here he'd thought _he_ was a decent size. If he'd had any doubts as to whether or not he was, truly, attracted to men, they had disappeared with the formation of the nearly painful bulge in his own boxer-briefs. Sam palmed Gabriel through his boxers, and grinned to himself as the older man moaned. "Sing for me, Angel," Sam murmured. He laughed as Gabriel mock-punched him in the ribs.

"I may be gay, but damnit, Sam, no musical references in bed," he growled, rolling on top of the other man. He pulled back a little to look at Sam's face, assessing. "You still good?" he asked. 

"Yeah," Sam breathed, and reached up to push Gabriel's smiley-face boxers down his body. Gabriel helped him, kicking them off once they got them low enough. He then glanced at Sam for permission before tugging Sam's boxer-briefs down his legs

Sitting up and looking down at a naked Sam, Gabriel whistled. "Merry Christmas to me," he announced, before reaching for the lube. "If I thought either of us would last or would be up for a second round, I'd go down on you right now. Fucking alcohol." 

Sam watched him, and admitted, "You'll have to show me what you need me to do." 

"My pleasure," Gabriel smirked at Sam before helping him to lube up his fingers. "You just press those in, one at first, and then--oh!" Sam was quick to follow his instructions. "God, Sam. Your finger. Now--now move it." He shuffled forward, straddling Sam's hips so it wasn't so much of a reach. "Yup, just like--yeah. The lube--get it all over. Inside and o-out!" 

Sam watched first one, then two fingers disappearing into Gabriel, finding both the process and the noises the whiskey-eyed man was making fascinating. He knew enough about gay sex to know that somewhere in there was Gabriel's prostate, so once he had two fingers fitting comfortably inside, he began searching for it. "Fuck!" Gabriel's entire body seized when he found it, and he grinned, pleased with himself. 

He suddenly found himself face to face with Gabriel. Well, besides the height difference, anyway. "That's enough. I'm ready."

"You sure?" Sam asked, frowning slightly as he pulled out his fingers. But Gabriel was already rolling a condom along his length, which was rather...distracting. "Shit!" Gabriel then smeared lube all over the outside of the condom. 

"Yeah, c'mon," Gabriel gasped, as he lifted himself up, grabbed hold of Sam's cock, and then slowly began to ease himself down onto it. 

"Fuck fuck fuck shit," was Sam's reply. "Feels...amazing." Gabriel leaned forward, and began to kiss and suck a line along Sam's sternum. Sam kept himself still as Gabriel bottomed out, and then finally, slowly, began moving. 

Gabriel started slow, but couldn't keep the pace like that for long; they both wanted this too much. Soon, he was slamming himself down onto Sam while Sam thrust up into him, both of them making incoherent but happy noises and both of them covered in a sheen of sweat. 

After a while, Gabriel shifted his position slightly and changed the angle, and Sam knew instinctively that neither of them were going to last much longer. He reached forward and took hold of Gabriel's cock, stroking him the way Sam liked to stroke himself. "C'mon, Gabe," he panted. "'M nearly--" That was all he managed before his vision went white and he filled up the condom. 

"Sam!" Gabriel shouted as he came moments later. The feeling of his muscles clenching around his cock nearly made Sam orgasm a second time. 

Despite the mess, Sam pulled Gabriel down onto his chest, holding him as they came down from their highs. He watched the candlelight reflect off of Gabriel's eyes he slowly smoothed his hands over Gabriel's back, and began to realize just how far gone on the man he really was. 

Eventually, they would have to clean up and let Max back in the bedroom (Sam could hear him now, whining outside the door), but for now, he was content to drift along in peace and satisfaction. "Happy New Year, Gabriel," he murmured. 

"Happy New Year, Sam," came the tired reply.


	23. Snooze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They wake up on New Year's Day and confront their insecurities...

Gabriel drifted into wakefulness slowly, surrounded by warmth and comfort. It wasn't until he blinked his eyes open and saw Sam's face a few inches from his own that he remembered last night, though. He smiled fondly, even as he realized that Sam was hugging his chest like a pillow and he'd have to go through some pretty serious contortions to extricate himself from the hold. Sam was also drooling just a little, but Gabriel thought it looked cute. Max had slept on his other side, so that he was trapped between them--not that he minded. 

Gabriel's fond smile turned a little wistful as he watched Sam sleep. He was pretty certain his days with Sam were numbered; he'd been the first nice gay (well, pan) guy Sam had encountered at college, and he'd explored his sexuality with him. Next semester, Sam would probably meet some pretty blonde girl that made him feel good, and Gabriel would be old news--a college experiment that had been nice while it lasted, but nothing to write home about. 

He was therefore determined to make the most of these stolen minutes, to enjoy what time he had left. Although Sam hadn't been too drunk, it would be easy for the young man to blame last night's events on the New Year's festivities, take an Uber of shame, and forget all about Gabriel. He desperately hoped that they could stay friends, though--he'd be sure to point out that he'd be happy to act as a chauffeur whenever Sam needed one since he had a car and Sam didn't. Plus, he was pretty sure Sam liked Max; maybe he could talk the kid into pet-sitting when he went on vacation. He was glad that they'd already exchanged phone numbers and had been texting regularly. 

For now, he reached up and carefully pushed a strand of Sam's hair away from the small puddle of drool he was creating, careful to keep his touch soft and gentle so Sam wouldn't wake up. Then he closed his eyes and dozed off again. 

.oOOo.

Sam woke up with a bit of a headache--definitely should've had more water last night, he told himself. Then he opened his eyes. _Oh. Right. Gabriel._ He recalled what they'd done last night, and smiled--feeling something damp around one corner of his mouth. Shit, had he been drooling? _Sexy, Sam. Real sexy._ He quickly wiped at his mouth with the back of a hand, and then looked at Gabriel. He saw the other man's stubble and found himself anticipating the way it would feel against his skin if he kissed him--and that, more than anything, convinced him that he was definitely at least bisexual. 

He knew he could have a panic attack, and no one would really blame him (not even Gabriel). Dean certainly would have one, were he to wake up with a guy. His Dad would hate it, would see it as a failing in Sam. Dean wouldn't be the least bit comfortable with it, although he'd probably eventually come around to the idea if it made his brother happy. But Sam--well, Sam had always been a champion of the underdog, which included the LGBTQ+ students at school. He couldn't very well tell them with any sincerity that there was nothing wrong with them and then freak out later when he realized he was one of them. Besides, while he wasn't necessarily perfectly comfortable with his sexuality, he was more than comfortable in his own masculinity, and didn't feel the need to prove anything to anyone. In the end, he decided he could forego the panic attack.

So, drool removed, he smiled softly down at Gabriel and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. He also released him, at least a little, from the octopus hold he had on him. He hadn't expected Gabriel to wake, but when he pulled back, a pair of honey-gold eyes were looking back at him. "Good morning," Sam told him quietly, his voice rough. 

Gabriel opened his mouth, and Sam suspected that what came out hadn't been properly filtered by his brain. "I'd give anything to wake up like this every day for the rest of my life." 

Sam chuckled softly. "I think it's still a little early for marriage proposals, don't you?" he asked, before kissing Gabriel on the mouth--and that stubble was every bit as interesting as he'd predicted. He kept the kiss soft and slow, and Gabriel seemed content with the pace. 

"In the morning or in the relationship?" Gabriel quipped when they broke apart. He ran his hand down Sam's flank, and then slid it around to Sam's back. 

Meanwhile, Sam started running his fingers through Gabriel's hair, prising apart the formerly sweat-soaked strands. The man looked completely adorable with sex hair. Actually, the man looked completely adorable, full stop, and Sam knew just how good of a guy he'd been lucky enough to find--someone who had a heart big enough to take in strays, big and small. "Both," Sam retorted. 

Gabriel gave him a bright smile, complete with dimples. "All righty then. Is it too early for me to go down on you?"

Sam pretended to think about it, even as his cock gave an interested twitch. "Hmmm." He tapped a finger to his lips, even as Gabriel climbed on top of him, displacing Max, who whined and then jumped down off of the bed as if his owner had wronged him horribly. "I'm not sure." 

"No?" Gabriel quirked an eyebrow. "Well, then I guess I'd better wait," he said, shrugging and moving to roll off of Sam, who caught him and put him back on top of him. 

"Blow jobs are not a joking matter," Sam informed him tartly as he pulled him down for a second, more heated, kiss. 

.oOOo.

Gabriel couldn't believe his luck when Sam not only didn't leave right away, but allowed him--among other, more fun things--to make him breakfast and then drive him back to his dorm room (once Castiel had appeared and driven them back to Gabriel's car, which was still at Balthazar's house). Sam kissed him in the car, too, after they parked at the dorm, and while there weren't many people around, they were in full view of those who were.

He nearly had a heart attack when Sam picked up his hand afterward and kissed his knuckles. "Can we go out again next week?" he asked, giving Gabriel puppy-dog eyes. "I can probably pay for dinner or a movie, but not both." 

Gabriel smiled at him. "I'll pay for the other," he promised. "Does Friday work?"

"Yeah...text you the details after I look up movies?"

"Sure. And, um. Happy New Year, Sam."

Sam smiled at him, his dimples making him look even younger than he was. "Happy New Year, Gabriel." He leaned in to give Gabriel one more chaste kiss before leaving the car, and Gabriel was finally forced to start wondering if the kid was just as into him as he was into Sam.


	24. Late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Still continuing the series...please note the time jump.

Several Christmases later...

Sam leaned back in his chair, having yet again eaten a great deal of one of Gabriel's epic Christmas dinners. As Gabriel liked to point out, however, eating too much only gave him an excuse to run more, which led to Sam being all sweaty and needing showers, which led to, well, other, more fun things. When they had time, of course; Gabriel spent a good deal at the bakery, and Sam spent a whole lot of time in class, studying, and working. Gabriel still had the apartment that he'd had when Sam had met him, though Sam was now a permanent resident, having moved in about a year ago. Max had, unfortunately, passed away, but they'd adopted another stray dog named Arthur whom they both adored. 

Gabriel was watching Sam closely, trying his best not to let his nerves show. They'd worked through a number of both of their insecurities over the years, yet he still wasn't completely certain how Sam would react to what he was about to do. However, he knew, somehow, that it was time. Sam would be attending law school at the same university, and--thanks to Sam's spreadsheets, advice, and help--Gabriel's bakery was doing quite well, although they'd discussed him opening another bakery in another town if Sam hadn't gotten in to this particular law school. In other words, they were already planning a future together; this would just take it a step further. A very important step, in Gabriel's estimation.

"Uh, ya know, Sam," Gabriel started, mentally rolling his eyes at himself. _Way to do it like you rehearsed,_ he snarked mentally. "Um. I think I forgot to give you one of your presents. Sorry it's late." They'd exchanged presents that morning. 

Sam immediately rolled his eyes. "Gabriel, I swear to god, if it's your dick in a box _again_... I'm too full, and that joke stopped being funny at least a year ago." 

Gabriel shook his head, and got out of his chair. "It's not. I promise," he said...completely ignoring the fact that there was a wrapped box under their bed with a hole cut in it for later that evening. 

Sam eyed him suspiciously, and Gabriel really couldn't blame him. He never could resist a prank, even when he really should be able to. But this, for once, wasn't a prank. 

Gabriel got down on one knee; Arthur, of course, ran over and tried to lick his hands now that they were in licking range. But Gabriel only had eyes for Sam, whose eyes had just widened slightly. He took a deep breath. "Samuel Winchester," he said, fumbling a box out of his pocket, holding it upside-down before he managed to right it and open it, displaying the ring inside--a replica of the One Ring, of course. "Would you make me the happiest man on the planet and marry me?"

He expected a range of reactions--Sam swooning, Sam picking him up and holding him like an octopus, Sam breaking into tears, mostly Sam saying yes--but not the one he got. Sam sat there in stunned silence for a moment or two, and then threw his head back and laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued in the final installment of a series that somehow I managed to avoid naming, which I'm pretty proud of!
> 
> I'd apologize for the cliffhanger, but since I've already written the rest in my head, I don't think it will take me too long to write and post...


	25. Presents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gabriel finds out why Sam laughed at him. 
> 
> And the final installment of the series :). Thank you for all your wonderful comments; I hope you enjoyed reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them. Special shout-out to HolyDean and 6-Wings on Tumblr, who made these prompts and opened their Sabriel Advent up to everyone...without them, I never would have written any of these, let alone this series that everyone seems to like so much :).

Gabriel sat, stunned, as he watched Sam laugh at his proposal. At him. Some little part of him was trying to hit his brain over the head and remind him that Sam wasn't like that, that there had to be some other reason Sam was laughing, but it was a tiny part. The rest of him wanted to sink into the floor, to do the cartoon thing where you jumped into a hole and then pulled the hole in after. It didn't help that Sam's laughter made Arthur bark happily--it felt as if both of them were laughing at him. 

Sam calmed just slightly and looked down at him, only to stop laughing and adopt a stricken look. "Oh god--" he hiccuped, having trouble catching his breath. "Sorry, sorry, Gabe, I wasn't--I--didn't--it's just that--so get this--"

Gabriel still wasn't hearing the word he wanted to hear, and he felt tears prick at the corners of his eyes. Why was Sam doing this to him? Was he actually saying no? Gabriel's brain couldn't understand what Sam was trying to say, and it wasn't helping that Sam was having a hard time finding the words he wanted. 

Sam did an ungainly flop out of his chair, only to face Gabriel and...get on one knee himself? What? What was he doing? Whatever it was, Arthur took the opportunity to try to lick Sam's hands too, although they were still too far off the ground for him to get at. Sam reached into an inside pocket of his shirt, shook his head, and produced a small box. "I--I was going to wait until New Year's," he said as he opened the little box, which still wasn't anywhere close to what Gabriel wanted him to say. In the box was a ring, which looked suspiciously like a replica of the One Ring. 

They stared at each other until Gabriel's mind finally started working again. Sam...Sam was down on one knee. Sam had a ring too. Sam-- "Is...does that mean...?" Gabriel couldn't get the words out either. 

"Will you marry me, Gabriel Shurley?" 

Gabriel continued to stare at Sam. He wanted to hit him over the head with something, because he _wasn't answering Gabriel's question._ "Fucking hell, Sam, _is that a yes or a no?_ " he finally demanded, practically growling the words. 

Sam's eyes widened, as he realized he'd been keeping Gabriel in suspense for the past few minutes. "Shit, Gabe, I'm sorry, I--I mean, _yes_ , yes, I will marry you, I just--" 

Gabriel grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him down for a heated kiss, since clearly words weren't his boyfriend's--his fiance's--strong suit. He was pretty sure his feelings bled through into the kiss, as he was nipping Sam's lower lip harder than he usually would. Meanwhile, Sam seemed to be trying to put all of the words he couldn't say into the kiss, and was trying to be slow and gentle. It made for quite the interesting--but memorable--engagement kiss. 

"Fuck, Sam," Gabriel growled, as he pulled back and started manhandling Sam's fingers, trying to put his ring on first. "I thought you were saying no." 

"No--of course I wasn't going to say no, Gabriel, I'm sorry," Sam blurted out, looking down at his finger and the gold band now on it. "It just--I was surprised, because I thought New Year's was our thing, and I had this whole plan that Balthazar and I had worked out to get the ring into your champagne at midnight--"

Gabriel gave him a not-particularly-heated glare as Sam, in turn, put his ring on Gabriel's hand. Gabriel had been right; Sam had purchased a simple gold band inscribed in Elvish as well. "Shut up, Sam," he finally said, pulling the student back down into a kiss that managed to be loving and heated at the same time. 

And they lived (mostly) happily ever after. The end :).


End file.
